Ripple Effect
by kusari-chan
Summary: When a sinister hand changes the course of many different futures, the Outer Soldiers and the Saiyans are determined to set it right.  However, if saving the future means to sacrifice someone that you love, could you do it?
1. The Stone's Throw

**Disclaimer: **The characters of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z are not mine!

**Story Summary: **When a sinister hand changes the course of many different futures, the Outer Soldiers and the Saiyans are determined to set it right. However, if saving the future means to sacrifice someone that you love, could you do it?

**A/N: **I really should be doing an English paper right now, but instead I'm writing a story! *procrastinator* Anyway, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of 'Ripple Effect', it's been a project I've had been working on in bits and pieces for a while. Constructive criticism and comments are always appreciated!

**Ripple Effect  
>Chapter I: The Stone's Throw<strong>

What surrounded her was a city that was in devastating ruin, its appearances faring no better than if a bomb had been dropped upon it. Skyscrapers, one time standing proudly within the metropolis as they reached towards the heavens, were now nothing more than piles of smoldering rubble with little of the scaffolding remaining in its place. Vehicles stood motionless and abandoned within the once bustling streets, their doors hanging open due to the abrupt desertion of their occupants. Glass littered the sidewalks and streets all over, and as the wind gusted, various bits of paper garbage flew by her in the air.

This was a dream. More specifically, it was a nightmare that had been on constant replay in her mind over the past several weeks. In the beginning, this dream started vaguely enough that it was easy to dismiss it as just a regular nightmare brought about the stresses of daily life. However, as time drew onward, the nightmare became much more vivid and real, and the bleak emotions derived from having to witness this terrible scene night after night was beginning to run a toll on her emotional wellbeing.

In tonight's nightmare, she could _smell _the death in the air. Tonight, her lungs burned as she inhaled the smoky air, causing her dream-self's lungs to constrict and send her into a coughing fit. In this nightmare, she could smell the blood of the dead and the dying, pungent and fresh.

Hotaru Tomoe was known to have premonitions in the past, but usually they were symbolic; a white moon, a dark moon, and always vague clues as to what may happen in the passage of time. Never before had they been this real, this _vivid_, and cause her so much stress in her waking world. Every part of her being believed that this _was _a premonition, but it always left her with so many more questions than answers.

When would this happen?

Why was this going to happen?

What could she do to stop it?

"I just don't understand," Hotaru Tomoe murmured in a confused voice, glancing around her destroyed surroundings in a vain attempt to find some sort of definitive clue to answer some of her questions. The televisions in the display windows of the stores that had not been completely destroyed were completely black, and she saw no newspapers around that would offer her specifics as to the timeline to when this may occur.

If this was being showed to her for some reason, she wanted to know what she could to stop it. The anxiety caused from this dream was causing her to stay awake until terrible hours of the night, and when she did fall asleep, this was all that was in her sleeping mind. She spent her days feeling tired and exhausted, and her usually impeccable grades in school were gradually beginning to slip. Before long, her family would take notice that something was troubling her, and Hotaru would much rather take care of the situation herself without bothering the Outer Soldiers about it.

"What is it that I'm supposed to do to stop this?" Hotaru yelled out into the destroyed city, her voice echoing throughout. She did not expect an answer, and was for the most part releasing the frustration she felt from having been in this position every night.

Yet, an answer she did receive.

"_You have to die,"_ a childlike voice responded to her in a whisper. The voice had been so quiet that, at first, Hotaru was not certain that she had even heard it. However, after a few brief moments of silence, the voice smoke once more, _"This is what will happen to your world in the near future should the current course remained unchanged."_

"This is the future?" Hotaru was certain that the confusion was showing on her face as she cast another observational look at the surroundings that had haunted her nightly. Most of the distinguishing landmarks had been destroyed, but there was an air of familiarity about the city around her. Perhaps it was Tokyo, but she was extremely confused as to how the future had derailed so much in what seemed like a brief time. After the fight with Chaos six years ago, when she was twelve years old, everyone had been certain that the last threat had been taken care of. What had obstructed the road to Crystal Tokyo so much that _this _was the future that awaited Earth?

"_Whether by your will or not, you are the catalyst which will bring about the ruin of this world, Sailor Saturn," _the voice informed her in a flat voice that was void of all emotion. _"As long as you are alive, this will certainly be the world's future. It will perish in violent cataclysm, and it will be absolute."_

Hotaru felt angry—angry that this voice was continually on insisting that it was _she _that was going to cause the end of the world. "The only way I can destroy a world is with the Silence Glaive, and that weapon was lost with my transformation six years ago. I am no more a threat to this world as anyone else."

"_You do not believe?" _the voice was curious now.

"No, I _don't_," Hotaru spat vehemently. This was utterly ridiculous, that she would the facilitator to the end of the world when that particular power was something she no longer had access to. Furthermore, this was a world that she love that her family and friends called _home_, and there was no possible way that she would ever destroy this world.

"_In time you will see the truth, and in time you will believe my words as well as this vision. Soon, a choice will be given to you; to sacrifice your life for the sake of many, or to live a selfish existence where many shall perish. There is time yet to set the course right and you are the only one who can do it."_

The ruins around Hotaru began to suddenly disappear behind a quick moving blanket of darkness, soon leaving the eighteen year old to stand in a black void with her violet gaze glued to the ebony ground beneath her feet. Even if this _was _the future that was currently on the horizon, there was no possible way that anything that this voice was saying had any validity to it. She was a _good _person who fought for life, light and justice, and it was inconceivable to her to even think that she would turn the world into a wasteland.

There was just no way she would ever do such a thing.

x

With a yawn, Hotaru stretched her arms up into the air above her head. School had never been a comfortable setting for her, and she found it even less tolerable when it came to her lack of sleep. Due to the emotional scars incurred from when she was a child, Hotaru had found it difficult to ever open up and get close enough to form bonds of friendships with any of her peers. Too often she was plagued by the memories of the past, being called a freak, a witch, and various other degrading names that her classmates had reserved for her when she was a little girl. At the time, her alienation from the rest of her classmates had been due to the uncontrollable nature of her powers. Even now, when her powers were not an issue, with the exception of still being able to heal minor wounds, Hotaru didn't want to risk opening her heart up again to only be hurt just like before.

It was unfortunate that she felt this way, but Hotaru found herself thankful for her distrustful tendencies since her teenager years had gone a great deal more smoothly than her childhood. There were of course other variables which Hotaru could commend for an easier life, especially now that she understood that even though she _could _heal wounds that it was not necessarily the best idea to always do. Her adopted mother and father-figure, Michiru Kaiou and Haruka Tenou, as well as her aunt-slash-sister figure, Setsuna Meiou, also had a direct influence in Hotaru having a better home life during her teenage years. They were always present, had always set aside time for Hotaru whenever she needed them. It was a far cry from the often-absent father that she had for the first twelve years of her life.

Still, Hotaru's mind wandered. While she felt safer not having any friends, that didn't make her feel any less lonely. Often she wondered what it would be like to be able to go out after school and watch a movie with a group of friends. She also imagined what it would be like going to school dances and maybe even having a boyfriend that she would talk on the phone to late into the night without her family knowing. However, all of these things were something of a fantasy for her; things to want, but things to never have.

Now that she was done with school for the day and had a weekend to look forward to, Hotaru hoped that she could try to catch up on the sleep that she was lacking. Her fantasies moved from having friends to something more realistic, such as heading right up to her room after arriving at home, changing out of her school uniform and into her pajamas, and then passing out on her bed until further notice. The simple desire of wanting the feeling of her blankets covering her body was enough to cause the corner of her pink lips to tug into the slightest hint of a smile.

As realistic as this desire seemed to be, it would never come to pass.

When Hotaru entered her neighborhood, she began a half-run towards the direction of her house, a mild excitement of nearly being home building up in her chest. She ignored the temptation to cross through her neighbors' yards in order to shorten the trip, continuing on along her way home on the sidewalk with each step quick and careful. It was when she turned the corner to go down the block which she lived on that her heels immediately dug into the pavement and Hotaru came to a dead halt, her heart stilling within her chest.

Setsuna's car was sitting in the driveway.

For two years Setsuna had taken up residence with Hotaru, Haruka and Michiru before she decided to move out on her own to pursue a career in fashion. Setsuna had only moved to an apartment in downtown Tokyo, but it was far away enough from the suburbs and her life far too hectic that she rarely made it out to the house for casual visits. Between trying to make a name for herself and her everlasting duties as the Guardian of the Time-Space Door, it was a much easier task to pick up the phone and give them a call than physical come to their house. For the most part, Setsuna left Guardian duties up to the projection of herself which she left at the Door; a means which allowed her to live a normal life in the mortal world, yet it left the Time-Space Door with very little protection. It would perhaps have been more responsible for Setsuna to remain at the Door herself, but as the eight other Soldiers had been entitled to a normal and human life on Earth, it would not have been fair to expect Setsuna to be any different.

Knowing Setsuna's overly busy schedule, it filled Hotaru with a sense of foreboding dread that made her want to avoid entering her own home entirely. Perhaps due to the reoccurring dreams she was having she felt more paranoid than she should, and perhaps this was nothing more than one of the rare casual visits that Setsuna was able to make, but the rational part of Hotaru's mind seriously doubted such a scenario. The words of what the voice had spoken to her replayed in her mind over and over, causing her knees to become weaker for each moment she stood still.

_In time you will see the truth, and in time you will believe my words as well as this vision. _

There was little sense in avoiding what waited for her inside, so Hotaru summoned up what inner strength lingered inside of her and took a deep breath. With hesitant steps she neared the front door of her home, reaching her hand forward and grabbing on to the doorknob. She paused for a moment before she gave the knob a twist and pushed the door open.

"I'm home," Hotaru called out, grimacing at how weak and scared the sound of her own voice sounded. As she kicked her shoes off just inside of the entryway, Michiru appeared and stood before her, and Hotaru could not ignore the grim look that lingered within the Soldier of the Sea's eyes.

"Welcome home," Michiru said, the smile appearing on her lips appearing somewhat forced. She motioned her hand towards the doorway which led to the living room. "Setsuna is here, and she has something important to discuss with all of us."

"Oh, okay," Hotaru quietly acknowledged, letting her backpack slide out of her grasp and on to the floor near to where she discarded her shoes. She followed Michiru into the living room where the atmosphere gave merit to Hotaru's fears, thick with tension that made her breathing seem difficult. Her gaze fell upon the emerald-haired Setsuna, who stood with her back towards Hotaru and Michiru with her arms folded over her chest as she stared at the collection of photographs that sat upon the mantle of the fireplace. Haruka, meanwhile, was leaning forward as she sat on the sofa with her elbows propped upon her knees and her head resting in her hands.

"What's going on?" Hotaru questioned suddenly, letting the anxiety that she felt be heard in her words.

"There was a breach at the Time-Space door," Setsuna explained in a flat voice without turning to face her family. "The instant that this breach occurred, the future completely disappeared."

Hotaru could almost hear her heart drop down to her stomach. The voice, the visions…could everything that had happened in her dreams possibly come true? "Breached by whom?"

"I am uncertain," Setsuna answered in frustration. Finally, she turned around so that she could face her family but her crimson eyes were hidden behind her bangs. "It all happened so quickly. As much as I don't want to think it coincidence, the breach occurred while I was in flight from America back to Japan, so there was no possibility in me returning to the Door the instant that this happened. There are few things which I am certain of at this moment, but this _intruder _has messed up quite a bit of things which aren't merely limited to our world. Everything is in such a mess right now…"

It was obvious by looking at Setsuna that she was shouldering the blame for this intrusion, and Hotaru didn't know what she could say to lift that burden from her conscience. Setsuna was an intelligent woman, and perhaps this intrusion could have been prevented had she not been enjoying the luxuries of a human life away from her duties at the Door. However, there was no saying that such a thing wouldn't have happened anyway.

After all, it seemed that at least _someone _out there believed that Hotaru was more of the villain in this than anyone.

"So, what's our plan of action?" Haruka inquired, steeling her voice to sound very much like the leader of the Outer Soldiers that she was. "What do we need to do to return things back to the way they were?"

"We have to follow it," Setsuna replied. "I've tracked its movements through the Doors it traveled through while in the Continuum and have pinpointed the window of _where _and _when _it may be. I'm certain that if we defeat it or drag it back to this Universe that it will mend some things, but I'm still not exactly sure how much damage has been done or if all of it can be fixed."

Haruka shook her blonde head and leaned back against the sofa. "There is a problem with that plan of yours. While you can still tap into some of _your_ powers, the rest of us have been rendered to a state little better than the average human being since Chaos was defeated. How in the hell are we supposed to deal with it if it's something _more _than human?"

"There is no problem with my plan," Setsuna explained in a firm voice, her eyes narrowing at the Soldier of the Sky. "Within each Universe, there are certain laws in place that keep the balance of things. As of this moment, our powers are not needed here so they have been sealed away until they are needed again. However, in the Universe which this intruder traveled to, I have discovered that the limits placed upon our powers are not in place there. In fact, our powers there may even be magnified in strength somewhat."

Haruka sat silently upon the sofa for a few moments, stealing a glance back to Michiru and Hotaru before looking back at the Soldier of Time once again. "So you're saying that I'll be able to use my powers again?"

"Not only will you be able to use them, but you shall be able to do so without the need of a transformation."

Setsuna's words seem to bring a look of relief and elation to Haruka, but to Hotaru they had the opposite result. As far as Hotaru was concerned, the limits bestowed upon them were in place for a _reason_. Haruka and Michiru would not have to fret about such things, but for someone like Hotaru who was the personification of a person whose powers existed not in shades of black and white—evil or good—but in grey, the thought of being able to use her destructive powers without limit caused her to feel more nervous than anything.

The fact that her powers may be magnified was even more horrifying.

"Well, that'll certainly be handy," Michiru stated with a true smile appearing on her lips. "So, what kind of place are we heading to in this _other _Universe?"

"Oddly enough, it's Earth," Setsuna informed, and after receiving three very confused looks from the other women within the room, the Soldier of Time couldn't help but find herself slightly smiling. "I suppose it may be difficult for you to understand, but there are many Universes which exist that are near-mirrors to others and some which are vastly different from anything you can possibly imagine. This other-Earth is almost exactly like our own in geological makeup and that it is primarily inhabited by humans, but it seems that certain events which occurred in the shaping of our current world did not ever occur there."

"Such as?" Michiru asked, arching an aqua-colored eyebrow.

"The mass extinction event, for instance," Setsuna answered. "Dinosaurs roam the country sides and forests as freely as deer do in our world. Also, the age of humanity is much younger than our own, yet their advances in technology have us completely blown out of the water. It's incredible how much things can fracture when you take out certain events that made our Earth what it is."

It all sounded very interesting, but Hotaru was having a difficult time to be at all enthusiastic with this trip to another Universe, to another Earth that closely resembled their own. The images of the nightmares she had were constantly replaying in her mind, and the words which the voice spoke to her were thundering loudly within her ears.

_Whether by your will or not, you are the catalyst which will bring about the ruin of this world, Sailor Saturn_.

She hoped that the voice was wrong.

**A/N: **Please review! I know not a lot happened in this chapter but the next chapter the ball will be rolling a little bit, including the introduction of the Saiyans into the story. Until next time!

Kusari-chan


	2. The Masks We Wear

**Disclaimer: **The characters of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z are not mine, they belong to their respective owners.

**A/N: **I meant to have this chapter out last week, but had a ton of homework so this got postponed until now. Sorry about that! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, I'll try to make these updates as regular as possible. Finals are around the corner, so no promises T_T.

**Ripple Effect  
>Chapter II: The Masks We Wear<strong>

Hotaru had never felt more nervous in her entire life. When dealing and socializing with people that she personally did not know, Hotaru was at her most uncomfortable. She desperately wished that talking with strangers could come as naturally to her as it seemed to with Haruka and Michiru. Still, regardless of how much she wanted to be a warm and sociable person that was easy to like, Hotaru's own body would seem to work against her. Her muscles would seem to tense up and make her freeze in place, and her voice would seem to lose itself somewhere in-between of wanting to speak and actually forming the words to do so. When an unfortunate soul was trying to be kind in conversing with her, Hotaru's eyes would travel elsewhere—anywhere—from meeting the gaze of the person speaking with her, and her head would tilt downward until her ebony bangs further shielded her eyes from any possibility of eye contact.

Everything about her body language showed others that their attention was unwanted, and it was of no curiosity to her as to why she had so few friends.

Thankfully, the guidance counselor—a person whose name Hotaru had forgotten in the midst of her extreme anxiety—had long ago given up on attempting idle conversation. This served some relief to Hotaru, mostly because that she no longer had to answer any of the counselor's inquiries in regards to her personal life. Although she had spent the entire week prior rehearsing a nearly seamless and plausible story as to where the four Outer Soldiers came from, she felt herself fumbling over the words before she even opened her mouth to speak them. Hotaru just simply atrocious at socializing, and fortunately the guidance counselor picked up on that rather quickly, eventually dropping all pretense of desiring to get to know 'the new girl' and paying more mind to the paperwork that was lying on his desk.

Hotaru did not want to go to school on this Earth and had fought against the whole notion of it up until the night before she was to attend classes. Her family had given her a list of reasons why she _should _continue her education on this planet even though doing so seemed to be a grievous waste of time. Her family argued that attending West City Academy would add more plausibility to the cover story which Setsuna had contrived. Also, they said, that attending school would give the Outer Soldiers another medium of information gathering that the other three women no longer had access to. However, the reason which seemed to carry the most weight with her family was that Hotaru attending school would keep some measure of normalcy, considering that the three adult Soldiers had uprooted Hotaru from her final year of school to go chase down some Gate-jumping _thing _that no one knew a thing about.

Of course, Hotaru gave her own list of reasons why she shouldn't be going to school. First, Setsuna could have simply come up with another story for Hotaru that didn't involve her attending high school on some alien Earth in another universe. Second, teenagers had been notorious for taking whatever rumors they heard and putting their own spin on them, making this so-called 'medium of information gathering' rather unreliable. Lastly, Hotaru didn't _need _to have normalcy because she simply wasn't _normal._

Unfortunately, Hotaru's family was unanimous in siding against her on the matter, leaving her with no choice but to do as she was told.

West City Academy was a short walk from the house where the Outer Soldiers had taken up occupancy. While there were many schools within the area that did not require uniforms, Hotaru specifically picked the one that did in order to attempt to blend in a bit more with the crowd once the inevitable intrigue of 'the new kid' eventually faded. Hotaru wore the uniform that was required of the girls at the Academy, which consisted of a black pleated skirt, a white undershirt that was tucked into the skirt, a long black tie that was tied neatly around the neck and a black blazer with the school emblem over the right front pocket. The boys of the school wore a similar uniform, except instead of the skirt they wore black pants.

Time dragged on while Hotaru sat in the silent office, her violet eyes glancing over to the clock which hung on the wall across the room. She was supposed to meet with her homeroom teacher here a little over twenty minutes ago, but with that time having long past and the time of homeroom quickly approaching, Hotaru wondered if her teacher would even make it in time. Of course she would rather not start classes today at all, but she was also becoming restless and wanted away from the presence of the guidance counselor and his uncomfortably quiet office.

Only moments later, a swift knock against the frosted glass window of the door was heard and, not even a second after the counselor bade the person on the other side of the door to enter, the door opened.

Immediately, Hotaru recognized that this boy was most certainly not her teacher. He was a student, likely around her age, who immediately struck her as a rebel who had no respect for the dress code. He wore no black blazer that was required of all of the students at the Academy, and the tie was absent as well. His white undershirt was not tucked into his pants as was mandatory, and instead it simply hung out around his hips loosely with the first few buttons at the top of his shirt undone, giving onlookers a glimpse of his collarbone. The only garment on him that obeyed the dress code at all was his black pants, but that was hardly any consolation considering the rest of his appearance.

Hotaru drew her attention from his state of dress to his face, and the moment when her eyes settled on his features, her heart skipped a beat.

The boy was _handsome_.

There had been plenty of boys at home that either looked decent or were simply good-looking, but Hotaru believed that none of them held a candle to the boy that was obstructing the doorway of the guidance counselor's office; his eyes were the color of the cloudless sky at midday, his hair was cut short and the shade of freshly bloomed lilacs in the spring with a few wisps of bangs hanging into his eyes, and his skin was slightly tanned from the sun's kiss. Although it was difficult to tell much from his loose-fitting shirt, Hotaru ventured to guess that the boy had a muscular build about him and more so than most of the other boys around his age.

When Hotaru realized moments later that the boy was staring directly at her, her face flushed and she immediately looked away from him. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there staring at him, and she hoped that he hadn't noticed that she was—as terrible as the word sounds—_ogling _him.

"Is this the transfer student?" the boy asked in voice which made no attempt to hide the annoyance he was feeling.

"Trunks Briefs," the guidance counselor greeted the boy before shooting him a disappointed look. "Would you like to tell me why you are not in your uniform _again_?"

"It was dirty," Trunks responded quickly and simply, making Hotaru wonder if the boy cared or realized that his lie was so obvious. "Anyway, is this the new transfer student or not? Something came up and Gohan's running a bit late, so he asked me to take her to homeroom since we apparently have it together."

"_Mr. Son_," the guidance counselor corrected Trunks in a firm tone, his eyes narrowing. "I understand that you are family friends, but while you are attending this Academy you will respect him as your teacher and refer to him as any other student in this establishment would. In any case, _yes_, this is the new transfer student, Hotaru Tomoe. Hotaru, the boy with the dreadful attitude is Trunks Briefs."

Hotaru met Trunks's blue eyes again, and only a moment later looked away as she felt her cheeks begin heating up again. "Hi," she mumbled in a voice that was barely audible.

"Let's go," Trunks ordered her in a hurried tone, and when Hotaru found herself hesitating in her seat for only a moment, Trunks's hand shot out quickly and wrapped around her small wrist, pulling her out of the chair and nearly dragged her out of the guidance counselor's office.

Due to Trunks being a good few inches taller than her and having much longer legs than she, Hotaru found a hard time keeping up with the lavender-haired boy. For each quick step that he took, it equaled two to three of Hotaru's and caused the smaller girl to stumble as she tried to meet his pace. Classes were to begin soon but not immediately, so Hotaru didn't understand why this boy was in such a hurry to get to their homeroom.

It was as if he couldn't wait to be rid of her, and from the sound of the displeasure in his voice earlier, Hotaru figured that her assumption was correct.

"I don't have time to play tour guide," Trunks informed her in cold tone, keeping his eyes focused in front of him. "All of the senior classes are on this floor, with the exception of gym which is on the first floor as well as the cafeteria. I heard you scored pretty high on the entrance exam, so navigating your way around the school by yourself shouldn't be any problem."

Hotaru bit her bottom lip, feeling uncertain as to whether Trunks had just given her a compliment or was simply mocking her high test scores. The only reason why she scored so high on the entrance exam was because Haruka had hacked into the school's computer system and got a hold of all versions of the exam which West City Academy gave to its students, giving Hotaru plenty of time to memorize most of the questions on the exam and the answers to them.

"It shouldn't be a problem," Hotaru admitted quietly.

For a short time, silence was the only exchange between the two of them. Their quick footsteps echoed against the hard floor of the senior corridor, which was mostly vacant of students as classes were starting soon. Of course, there were a handful of procrastinators that lingered in front of their lockers, casting Hotaru and Trunks inquisitive looks as they quickly passed by them. Hotaru could only look down at the floor that passed under her feet.

"This is homeroom," Trunks muttered, finally coming to a stop in front of one of the doors which lined the hallway and released Hotaru's wrist as quickly as if it had burned his hand. "The seating is open, so sit where ever you find an open seat. I'll warn you, though; Gohan is the most laid back teacher in the school, so expect most of your other teachers to assign you a seat. Good luck."

Trunks didn't hesitate a moment longer with her, grabbing on to the knob of the door and giving it a hard turn before pushing his way into the classroom, disappearing from her sight. Hotaru lingered in the corridor for several moments afterward, simply standing there and staring at the numbers which marked the classroom door. In all honesty, she wasn't exactly bothered by the fact that Trunks Briefs wanted to be rid of her so quickly. However, the feeling she was left with after Trunks left her alone and standing in the hallway was something less welcome.

Loneliness.

Even though Hotaru was a loner by nature, she hated _feeling _alone. She found her eyes stinging with the threat of tears and her heart twisting painfully within her chest. In her mind, she cursed her family for sending her to school on this Earth and she damned the being that had forced them to come here. More so, she blamed her long dead father for turning her into this person who was so very socially awkward.

_Get a hold of yourself, _she ordered herself. Nothing good was to come from her breaking down here, and surely nothing better would manifest from blaming every little thing in her life that caused her to be in this less than desirable situation. After a brief time spent composing herself, Hotaru soon took a deep breath as a final attempt to calm her jittery nerves before she reached forward to grab on to the door knob, giving it a hesitant twist before pushing the door open. She took one step into the classroom, and then another, before she allowed the door to fall shut behind her.

The students within the room, her new classmates, immediately stopped socializing with each other and turned their heads to look at the newest addition to the school. There were at least two dozen sets of eyes that were centered upon her, and after Hotaru had done her best to beat her anxiety away, she could feel it all return to her. Her heart began to thunder in her chest, as if it was slamming against her ribcage in an attempt to break free, and she could feel her knees weaken with the threat of buckling beneath her.

Hotaru sought out one of the few vacant chairs within the classroom and hurried to it, taking a seat and opening up her backpack, attempting to refocus her attention on the items inside than the eyes which she felt were boring into her skull. It was until minutes later that the classroom gradually returned to the way it had been before she entered it, with the students turning their attentions to each other and resuming whatever conversations that Hotaru had interrupted with her presence. Yet, their tones were hushed, which made Hotaru wonder if now she was the preferred topic of discussion.

More than anything else at that moment, Hotaru wanted to disappear.

x

For Trunks Briefs, the day continued on and eventually ended as any other. The presence of a new student at the school didn't appeal to him as it did the rest of his peers, and over the course of the day he had nearly forgotten the girl altogether. Once the hands on the clock were drawn ever closer to three in the afternoon, the only thing Trunks was concerned over was getting home and relaxing the rest of the day. He was mentally drained from a day having spent as another _normal_ student, having had to once again put up with the mindless babble of his peers and pretending to pay attention to the collection of boring teachers the Academy had amassed.

Unfortunately, Gohan decided to throw a large wrench into Trunks's afternoon plans. He and Goten were to meet Gohan in his classroom at the end of the school day for a "very important conversation". So, once the final bell had rung for the day and Trunks rid himself of a group of followers that he cared little of, he made his way to Gohan's classroom to have some conversation that couldn't have waited for a later time.

"I didn't get a chance to say it earlier, but thank you for escorting Hotaru to class for me, Trunks."

_Like I had a choice_, Trunks thought bitterly as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Perhaps Trunks would have felt less sour about the whole ordeal if Gohan had called him up himself and asked Trunks to do the task personally. Instead, Gohan had gone over his head to his mother, who had never been someone to deny Gohan of anything that he asked of her. Gohan had long ago won over the love and respect of everyone that Trunks knew, so when there was something that the oldest half-Saiyan needed to be done, it was done; no asking questions, no making excuses.

Trunks was no errand boy, and he absolutely hated when he was dragged into situations where he was expected to be such a thing. He supposed his feeling such a way had to do with the entitlement of being born a Briefs, with a silver spoon in his mouth and the very world at his fingertips. However, it was more likely that is superior attitude had more to do with the Saiyan Prince's blood rushing through his veins. As far as Trunks was concerned, Goten would have been a better candidate for escorting around the new transfer student this morning. Even though Goten was a junior and a notorious skirt chaser, he _was _Gohan's brother. Such a responsibility should have fallen into Goten's lap and not Trunks's.

Trunks thought it better to keep his thoughts to himself, simply replying to Gohan with, "It was nothing."

"What was so important that you needed to talk to us about it right after school, Gohan?" Goten inquired with the likeness of a child, blinking his ebony eyes in curiosity at his older brother. It was likely that the youngest Son child had been biting at the bit all day to find out what Gohan had to say to them, and he wasn't going to be at all patient when the revealing moment was but a short time away. By simply looking at Goten, Trunks could swear that it looked as if the boy was about to burst in anticipation from having waited so long.

The look on Gohan's face immediately transformed from indifferent to troubled. The teacher leaned back against his desk and folded his arms over his chest, waited a few seconds to collect his thoughts, and finally said, "Another girl was kidnapped last night, and this morning her body was discovered in a park near the city limits. It seemed to be a ritual killing, just like the others."

"How many does that make now?" Trunks questioned, but he otherwise looked uninterested in Gohan's words.

"Seven over the past two weeks," Gohan informed him with a dejected sigh. "The police department asked Videl and me for help—well, the Great Saiyamen, anyway—and we were allowed to examine the bodies. This one was the same as the last six were; her heart was torn from her chest, her throat was cut, and there were bruises on her arms like she was physically restrained. Theories have gone from just a single serial killer to some radical religious group that has some sick beliefs. However, they're no closer to solving the crime as they were when the sixth victim showed up."

"And what exactly does this have to do with us?" Trunks asked with irritation dripping in his voice, casting his angry gaze out of the window as he watched groups of students depart from the building and headed off campus. "We're _fighters_, not crime-solvers. This is the police's job."

"We're not just fighters Trunks, we uphold the peace," Gohan told him in a firm voice, giving the lavender-haired boy a hardened stare. "As people born with exceptional powers and strength, it's our responsibility to keep this world safe for everyone. If we have the power to bring some human criminals that have been killing young girls to justice, why _shouldn't _we do it?"

"Why _shouldn't _we?" Trunks repeated, venom in his voice as he turned to look at Gohan, meeting his stare. "Reliance, Gohan; that's why we shouldn't. If we go around saving the world from every little problem, the public is going to depend on us to save them from every little thing. Afterward, in the moments that we _don't _save them—say, some kid tragically dies in a car accident or some bastard breaks into a bank and shoots a few people—they're going to blame us for not being there. They're going to say we had the power to stop it yet we didn't."

"I'm not asking you two to become super heroes who bail the general public out every day, Trunks," Gohan sighed in exasperation, shaking his head at the boy's words. "All I'm asking is that you take the time to help me out here and bring some sick, twisted individuals to justice. After that, you can go back to your moody and miserable self without worrying about me asking you to do another damn thing for me."

"Sorry, Gohan, but I'm not interested in doing this at all," Trunks told him in an unsympathetic tone, starting towards the door. "If the serial killers start shooting lasers out of their hands and contemplate world domination, I'll help you in a heartbeat. But this is a human problem, and it should be solved by humans—not by us."

"Are you going to let what happened with Elsa affect you forever?"

At Gohan's mere mention of her name, Trunks immediately halted with his hand lingering just above the door knob, his breathing ceasing. Initially, Trunks felt nothing but the shock of hearing that name again, but it wasn't long before other emotions began bubbling to the surface. First it was despair, a type of despair which caused his entire chest to constrict and burn with pain. Next it was regret, an emotion which washed over him so suddenly that it caused his blue eyes to shut tightly as he tried to force them away.

And then, fury completely consumed him.

"Don't you _ever _mention her name again," Trunks growled with his voice dangerous and threatening. In the next moment, Trunks threw the door open and disappeared out into the hallway.

x

"You should definitely try out for some of the academic clubs once you settle into school. Oh, and maybe try out for the volleyball team? Oops, maybe not, I forgot that you said that you really don't like sports…"

Regardless of the numerous attempts Hotaru had made to keep every student at the Academy at more than arm's length, there was one person who completely ignored all of her dissuading behavior. The girl's name was Mara Caverly, a student that shared several classes with Hotaru and had been determined to befriend the new transfer student. No matter how often Hotaru tried to retreat into her shell, Mara seemed to know how to say just the right things to ease her right back out of it. Over the course of the day, Hotaru found Mara to be a welcome sight.

There were times that Hotaru thought that Mara was _too _chatty, but she kept her thoughts to herself. She had to remind herself that the curly-haired brunette was just being nice, and it was very possible that Mara was as nervous as Hotaru felt. It wasn't as if Hotaru was making it easy on Mara, with her frequent bouts of silence and Mara trying to fill in the gaps with whatever came to mind. Hotaru had to give the girl credit for her unwavering determination.

After figuring out where Hotaru lived, Mara offered to accompany her home from school. Apparently, Mara lived not too far away from Hotaru and wanted to use the time to get to know her new classmate better. Hotaru would have rather been by herself on the trek home, but again, she had rather not be rude to the very first person on this planet that was making attempts to befriend her. So, she accepted Mara's presence as they made their way home, listening with the girl's rambling words with only half a mind.

"Hey, Hotaru," Mara called out suddenly, her hand motioning over to an alleyway the two of them were about to pass by, "if we take this way it'll take us to your neighborhood faster."

Hotaru eyed the alley with skepticism, her eyes narrowing in disbelief that heading down this alleyway—going a direction which would seem at first glance to take much longer than taking the city sidewalks—would be at all faster. "Through here?"

"Yeah, I take this shortcut every day to avoid the crowded streets," Mara explained.

Still, Hotaru was uncertain. "I don't know, it just doesn't seem faster…"

However, Mara was hearing none of her excuses. The brunette girl reached forward and grabbed on to Hotaru's wrist, yanking the reluctant girl down into the alleyway. Hotaru found her feet stumbling at first, mostly surprised that Mara refused to accept any other means of getting to their homes, before she found her balance to keep up with the other girl. However, the moment Hotaru finally was able to walk in step with Mara, the curly haired girl abruptly stopped.

Hotaru halted as well, staring at Mara with a confused look. "Mara…?"

In the next moment, Hotaru found herself pinned against a nearby building, a hand clasped over her mouth to keep her from making any sound.

**A/N: **Again please review, it keeps me motivated! Until next time!

Kusari


	3. Not Always What They Seem

**Disclaimer: **The characters of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z are not mine, they belong to their respective owners.

**A/N: **To answer a question from Kitty in a Cornfield, I find it difficult to write solid Sailor Moon canon because of how much the story in the anime deviates from the manga (example; Hotaru's father died in the manga, yet in the anime he lived and cared for Hotaru for roughly six months after the battle with Pharaoh 90). So, in regards with the Sailor Soldiers' powers being sealed, that is primarily something I made up myself. When referring to aspects of Sailor Moon the series within this story, certain elements of canon between the two mediums may be mixed in together or added on to by my own creative mind.

For Dragon Ball Z, most elements from that series will be canon with the exception of Trunks's current attitude which will later be explained. Anyway, thank you for the question Kitty, and I hope this clarifies things for you as you continue reading! (So glad the semester is almost done by the way, so no more English paper procrastinations o.O)

**Ripple Effect  
>Chapter III: Not Always What They Seem<strong>

With her voice muffled by her assailant's cold hand, Hotaru spent her time assessing the situation that she and Mara were in. The assailant, who was covered in a black hooded cloak that obscured any revealing features of his face from view, towered several heads over the petite Hotaru. His body was large, and his shoulders broad enough that Mara was completely blocked from Hotaru's point of view. The man didn't appear to be armed, but judging by the bulging muscles on his forearm and the painful weight that he continued to press against the top of Hotaru's chest, she ventured to guess that weapons weren't something that he required.

Hotaru wasn't worried for herself. With full access to her powers without using a transformation wand, it wouldn't be difficult to fling the man off of her with only a small burst of her destructive power. Yet, with Mara being in such close vicinity and Hotaru being unable to precisely determine where the other girl was standing, she couldn't guarantee that Mara would be either caught up in the force of Hotaru's power or be knocked into by the large hooded man, causing the girl certain harm. Furthermore, should Mara not be injured by Hotaru using her powers to free herself, the brunette girl would undoubtedly become a witness to something that would be difficult to explain. Choosing to use her powers in the presence of another meant exposing not only Hotaru, but the presence of the other Outer Soldiers in a world that was not theirs while they were pursuing something that was unknown to them as of yet.

Hotaru could not chance exposure, especially since she was not certain of who this man was or who he was affiliated with.

With her thoughts drifting back to Mara, Hotaru was becoming more concerned with the other girl's wellbeing. Mara had not made a sound since the man had appeared and pinned Hotaru against the wall, so she was certain that Mara had not yet fled in fear of her own safety or to find someone to help. For what reason did Mara have to linger within the alley, and why was she doing so without panicking as any normal person would in the face of such a perilous situation? With Hotaru's field of vision blocked by the man pinning her, and with his freezing cold hand pressed against her lips to keep her from calling out to Mara, it was hard to gauge how the brunette girl was faring.

Confronted with so many unknowns, Hotaru opted for a solution to the situation that was less desirable to her yet the only one that seemed adequate for now; fighting.

Hotaru began to squirm and twist her body against the weight of the assailant's strength, trying to free herself from his firm hold. While Hotaru had claim to some of the strongest magical powers of all of the Sailor Soldiers, she was also the physically weakest of them all. Hotaru provided little competition against even ordinary humans, and she provided no challenge against those who were trained in the art of physical combat. Still, Hotaru had her small body to her advantage, making her quick against her opponents who were much bulkier than she. If she managed to free herself from her assailant's hold, she could possibly get by without using any magical powers whatsoever.

However, the assailant's strength never wavered and his hold on Hotaru never once wavered. He simply stood there as he had from the moment he appeared, as still as a stone with his visible lips pressed into a straight line. The assailant made it appear as if Hotaru's squirming had gone unnoticed, the muscles in his arm never tensing up or applying more pressure and showing no response to her attempts of escape.

"What do we have here, Phem? We come out here to get one girl and I find you here with two. I didn't realize you were so famished."

Hotaru's movements ceased when she heard the new voice, distinctly male with his every word dripping with dark amusement. He approached from further down the alley, allowing Hotaru to catch only a glimpse of him before he disappeared behind the man, whose name was apparently Phem, who pinned her. This man was also covered in a black cloak with the hood hiding his face from view, but his stature was smaller compared to Phem and his muscle build was average of most men. He walked with an air of arrogance about him, with each footstep making no sound as they fell against the cement ground.

Only a fraction of a second had passed before Hotaru fully realized what the other man had said; Mara was still here, obscured somewhere behind Phem, and was now in danger of this man who seemed affiliated with the one who was currently pinning her against the wall. Other than feeling fear and concern for the girl, Hotaru also felt confusion. Why hadn't Mara made a single sound since this whole situation started? Even more so, why did the girl lack the good sense to run away when it was more than obvious that Hotaru was in a great deal of trouble?

Hotaru's questions would be answered sooner than she even thought. Phem suddenly moved with quickness that Hotaru would have previously thought was impossible for a man of his size, almost moving too quickly for Hotaru's mind to comprehend exactly what was going on. Within a small window of time, Phem had pulled Hotaru away from the wall and moved behind her so now that he was standing behind her. One of his arms constricted around her small body with enough force that was painful and certain to bruise later, making sure that her arms were kept immobile at her sides. Instead of his hand returning to her mouth to keep her silenced, it instead went to the top of her head and took a handful of her ebony hair, giving it a painful yank so Hotaru was forced to look directly at the scene in front of her.

Now she could see Mara, and the sight of the curly haired brunette caused Hotaru more confusion than before when she couldn't even see the other girl. It seemed that Mara had not moved a centimeter from the spot that Hotaru last remembered seeing her, and there was something that was simply _off _about the other girl. Mara was simply standing there, her arms hanging loosely at her sides as she stared down the direction of the alley where the two of them were originally heading. Her green eyes were open but were entirely unfocused and seeing nothing, while her face was black with no expression present.

"_Mara_!" Hotaru called out to the other girl, but received no response. Her violet eyes swept over to the other man, narrowing in an accusing glare. "What did you do to her?"

"The human mind is weak, its heart even more so," the smaller man explained as he approached Mara. One of his hands reached out, cupping Mara's face in a way that was almost delicate. "Those with weak hearts are easy to incapacitate; those with weak minds are easy to control."

_Mara is being controlled by him? _Hotaru was unrelenting in her glare, curling her fingers into fists at her sides. If this man was truly controlling Mara, then he was no ordinary human being. "Who are you?"

"Who are _you_?" the smaller man retorted, lowering his hand from Mara's face and turning his face to stare at Hotaru from under his hood. "You should be in the same state as this girl, yet you stand here fully aware. I would venture to guess that neither your heart nor mind is weak, that you are not _simply _human. So, as we are the ones in full control of this situation, I ask you; _who or what are you?_"

Cornered; that one word was enough to explain exactly how Hotaru felt at that moment, and she was uncertain of what she could do to get herself out of this mess. The smaller man was already in the process of figuring her out, and Phem continued to hold on to her with an iron-tight grip that never once relented. The situation would have been less complicated had there just been Phem, but now with this other man here, there was no chance that she could use her powers at no risk to Mara. If these men were indeed not at all human and were stronger than average, the burst of power Hotaru would need to perform in order to incapacitate them would certainly kill Mara. Certainly, Hotaru's family wouldn't frown upon her for sacrificing one life to ensure that her own life and secrets remained intact, but that was a tactic which Hotaru wasn't entirely supportive of.

After all, with the way her ultimate power worked, if there came a moment where she had to take the lives of others she would condemn her own life to death as well.

"No answer?" the smaller man sighed in apparent disappointment, pulling a dagger out of a sheath that was hidden behind the drape of his cloak. "Such a pity, but I suppose it doesn't really matter. Whatever you are now, you'll both be dead all the same later."

Hotaru's breathing quickened and she began to panic, feeling helpless as the man pressed his index finger against Mara's forehead, her head tilting back compliantly and fully exposing the front of her neck to him. Hotaru's mind was frantic as it tried to come up with something—_anything—_that could save the girl that had been so kind to her for no reason at all, who seemed determined on becoming her friend regardless of how much Hotaru had try to discourage her from doing so. To her dismay, Hotaru found herself running out of time to come up with a solution that would disable the man that had raised the sharp edge of the dagger to Mara's throat. How could she save Mara without causing her any harm?

The very moment that the blade broke into Mara's flesh, chaos ensued.

The smaller man suddenly went flying across the length of the alley as if he had been hit by a car—or perhaps a freight train—his body hitting the hard cement ground a great distance away. In the next second, Phem's arm disappeared from around her body and his hand released her hair, and she only managed to turn around in time enough to see the large man be flung into the wall that she had been pinned against only a short time ago. There was the sound of stone shattering and cracking beneath the force of Phem's large body colliding with the wall, and as his body dropped to the ground, a shallow crater was revealed which had formed where his body had met the wall.

A movement caught the corner of Hotaru's eye and she turned her head, and she watched the smaller man being picked up off of the ground and his body being thrust against the wall of another building nearby. It was then she saw the reason for the sudden commotion, the reason that she was suddenly free from Phem's iron hold; a man with golden hair that spiked off in every direction, a blazing aura burning around him which felt warm even from where Hotaru was standing several feet away. His greenish-blue eyes, which lacked the presence of a pupil, glared angrily at the face of the smaller man and he held him up off of the ground by the front of his cloak and pressed his body against the wall with force.

"So you're the two responsible for the murders?" the boy accused in a furious voice which struck Hotaru as familiar, yet she wasn't sure why.

The smaller man chuckled despite the situation he was in, his lips curling into a smirk. "And if I am, what will you do _Saiyan_? Haul me off to the police and have me tried like some common criminal?"

The term 'Saiyan' wasn't something that Hotaru was familiar with, but it was something that the golden haired man visibly reacted to. His body jerked with surprise, his mouth opening just slightly as he stared at the smaller man in disbelief. "How the hell do you know…?" the golden haired man started before cutting his words off suddenly, regaining his composure as his glare returned and almost trying to appear as if the word never had any sort of effect on him.

"We know much more than you think," the smaller man informed him, his arrogant smirk never wavering. Hotaru only blinked once before the smaller man had completely vanished from the golden haired man's grasp, leaving the golden haired man looking utterly baffled from the sudden disappearance of the man he was holding on to only moments ago.

"Where did he go?" the golden haired man growled out in frustration, turning his body and glancing all around him for some clue as to where the smaller man might of gone off to. His greenish-blue eyes settled near Hotaru, where Phem had been. "He's gone too?"

Hotaru glanced over to where Phem had once been sitting on the ground. Sure enough, Phem was as gone as the smaller man was, having left no trace other than the sizeable crater that remained in the wall from his earlier impact. Both of them had disappeared so quickly and so silently that, aside from the physical evidence that both of the men had certainly been there, it seemed like everything that had happened could have either been a hallucination or a dream.

A gurgle pulled Hotaru's attention from the men that had disappeared and to Mara, who had since collapsed on to the ground and was sitting on her knees, her hands having reached up to her neck in an attempt to keep anymore blood from spilling out from the wound that the dagger had carved into her neck. Hotaru immediately ran over to Mara and dropped down next to the brunette, her hands pushing Mara's out of the way and pressing against the wound, trying to hold it closed.

_It's no good, her artery probably was cut, _Hotaru thought grimly. Mara was likely to die unless something was done to save her soon. Her wound could likely be healed with Hotaru's powers, yet she had never attempted to heal something as severe as this. Hotaru had only healed minor scrapes and cuts before, not something that had directly cut into something which meant life or death. Healing wounds had also sapped a lot of Hotaru's power in the past, even though they had all been only minor. It was hard to say what would happen should Hotaru try to heal something like this, even with the increased magical ability that this universe granted her.

"Her throat is cut?"

Hotaru glanced over her shoulder at the golden haired man, whose anger seemed to have faded and was replaced with concern for the injured girl. In the midst of her own concern for the brunette, Hotaru could not shake how familiar this man seemed to her, yet she couldn't recall anyone with the features of golden spiked hair and greenish-blue eyes. The tone of his voice, now no longer consumed by fury as it once had been, was something she was certain that she had heard before. Slowly, Hotaru's gaze traveled downwards, first to white long-sleeved shirt that had a few buttons undone at the top, and the black pants that he wore…

She wasn't the only one at West City Academy that had a secret.

"Trunks Briefs?" Hotaru asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper, her words filled with surprise and disbelief. She was certain this was Trunks, yet how was it that his hair and his eyes had turned a different color?

In response to his name, Trunks flinched but it was only slight. "I _asked _you if her throat was cut," he repeated, his voice sounding aggravated from having been figured out so quickly.

Hotaru pressed her lips together, finding his lack of denial and his reaction enough of an affirmation that this was who she thought it was. She turned her attention back to Mara, watching with concern as blood seeped out from between her fingers and around her hand regardless of how much pressure she was applying to the wound. "I think he hit her artery; there's so much blood."

"We need to call an ambulance and get her to a hospital," Trunks said in worry as he reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone.

"She'll bleed to death before the ambulance gets here."

"Well, what else can we do?" Trunks asked in frustration. "Are we just going to stand here and watch her die?"

It was likely her family would not approve of what she was about to do, but Hotaru had decided that she wasn't going to let this girl die in order to keep from exposing her secret. If Mara remembered anything, Hotaru could blame it on the girl having had some shock-induced hallucinations from such a terrifying situation, and as Trunks had his own secrets to keep it was likely he wasn't about to tell the whole school about Hotaru's powers. There was no way that she could let Mara die and be able to look this boy in the eye ever again, especially since he had used his own strength and powers to save them both. He would likely blame himself for her death for either having been careless or that he could have done more.

Hotaru's violet eyes fell closed, summoning up the power that dwelled within her to heal Mara's wound. A light purple glow appeared beneath Hotaru's palm which soon filtered out into the air around the two girls, and eventually it became so bright that it was nearly blinding. Within her mind, Hotaru pictured the wound and what she wanted her powers to do with it. She imagined the artery within her neck sealing shut so that blood could flow through it once again, and then imagined the layers of muscle and skin mending together so that it left no trace of what there once was.

The purple light soon faded, and Hotaru removed her hands from Mara's neck. The wound was as gone as Hotaru had imagined it, in its place leaving skin that was without imperfections. The blood that had spilled from the wound remained on Hotaru's hands, on the skin around where the wound had been, and on Mara's own hands and uniform. It appeared as if the skin had never been penetrated, and was as perfect as the day as Mara had been born.

A heavy silence filled the air, Trunks looking on with a look that was clearly astonished with his mouth agape. Hotaru said nothing as well, but for more of the reason that she had no strength to summon the words to speak. All of the muscles in her body felt tired and her head panged as if she had a terrible migraine, and in the very next moment, her entire world was shrouded in darkness.

"That was a really stupid thing that you did back there."

The first voice that Hotaru heard as she began to pull out of the depths of her unconsciousness was that of her homeroom teacher, making her immediately confused. For what reason was Mr. Son here and why was he calling her actions stupid? It was a talk that she was certain Haruka was reserving just for her once the Soldier of the Sky caught wind of what she had done, but not from the homeroom teacher who Hotaru had only briefly and recently met.

"Yeah, but what was I supposed to do? Let them both get their throats cut and their hearts torn out of their chests? Those guys were going to _kill _them, Gohan, and _you _were the one who wanted me to play the hero and bring these _twisted individuals _to justice."

This voice belonged to Trunks, and he sounded as if he was close to where ever Hotaru was at the moment. She recalled that the guidance counselor had said that the two of them were family friend which certainly explained as to why her teacher was there. Being so close outside of school, it was likely Gohan had full knowledge as to what Trunks was and what he was capable of, and was one of the first people Trunks had called to confide in.

* * *

><p>"Really, I appreciate you having reconsidered—"<p>

"Okay, let's get this straight; I haven't reconsidered _anything_. I was pissed off and flying home from school when I saw the two of them in trouble."

"Still, I appreciate you saving them from the killers, but you really should think about getting some sort of disguise in case this happens again."

Trunks laughed. "A _disguise?_ Like the Great Saiyaman outfit? Yeah, I wouldn't be caught _dead_ in something like that."

"Yeah, but a disguise's purpose is to make sure you're not recognized like you were today. You dress distinctly from everyone else at school, so it's no surprise that even a new student recognized you right off the bat."

Trunks fell silent, and after a few seconds Gohan sighed before he spoke again. "She's starting to wake up so I'll leave you two alone, but if someone—the wrong type of someone—recognizes who you are, it'll be more than just inconveniencing yourself. You are Trunks Briefs, the heir of Capsule Corporation; all sorts of people would have a field day to know that you aren't entirely human. We'd have to use the Dragon Balls to make everyone forget about it, and I'd rather not use Shenlong for something that could have otherwise been avoided."

Hotaru could hear Gohan's footsteps gradually become more and more faint before there was a sound of a door opening and soon falling shut. Trunks spoke only a brief moment after, "You can stop pretending you're still unconscious. You weren't fooling anyone."

Slowly, Hotaru opened her eyes, finding that she was in one of the places she hated far more than school; a hospital. She was lying in a bed, with the smell of disinfectant that was so distinct to hospitals burning her nose, causing her to wrinkle it in disgust. She glanced over to the window in the room first, seeing that night had fallen and the city outside had become illuminated by its own artificial light. Next she glanced over to the other side of the bed where Trunks sat in a chair beside her, his hair returned to its lavender color and his eyes back to the shade of blue they once were. He was leaning back in his chair with his arms perched on the armrests and his fingers drumming against it.

"Mara…?" Hotaru asked, wincing at the sound of how strained her voice sounded. How long had she been out for?

"Alive and well, but the doctors are keeping her overnight for observation because she is anemic for _unknown reasons_," Trunks informed her, a slight smirk pulling at the corners of his lips as he added the last two words. "Fortunately for us, she doesn't remember anything. I told the cops that you two were attacked by some thugs and I managed to chase them off, so I would suggest that you either take a page out of Mara's book or use the same story as me to avoid raising any eyebrows."

Hotaru nodded in agreement and pushed herself up so that she was not sitting on the hospital bed. She turned her head to look at the lavender haired boy, still finding that she was in a great deal of surprise that someone like him had a secret that wasn't too different from her own. Even though she had only been at West City Academy for a day, Hotaru had pretty much gotten the full story of who Trunks Briefs was. The boys at the school envied Trunks for his athletic skills and strikingly good looks, while the girls of the student body found themselves infatuated with the eighteen year old. From what Hotaru had heard, Trunks was considered 'the prince of the school'—a status which seemed to eclipse mere popularity alone. He was an heir to a world renowned brand, was rich beyond comprehension, and was famous the world over.

Now, Hotaru knew that he was an heir with a secret; he wasn't normal. And, Trunks knew that she wasn't either.

Trunks stared at Hotaru openly for a few moments in silence before a slight smile tugged at his lips. "So, you can heal wounds and pass out afterwards. That's quite a talent."

"Yeah, I suppose," Hotaru acknowledged quietly, soon averting her gaze from his, "and you can change your hair and eye color, and beat up some guys afterwards?"

"Among other things," Trunks admitted with an amused tone which lasted only for a moment before a serious look obscured his face, his smile disappearing. "I'm guessing you're not from some backwater mountain village like your student file says, right?"

Hotaru suddenly found the skirt of her uniform more interesting than where the topic of conversation was heading, her fingers tugging at the hem that rested just over her knees. Even though Trunks was aware that she was not completely normal and Hotaru was aware of his own secret, she simply couldn't divulge the whole truth to him. This world was simply a place where she didn't belong and what kind of repercussions would occur if she revealed the truth to him, that she was an alien not only of this world but of this entire universe. The Outer Soldiers wanted to keep their impact on this world to a minimum so as not to alter this Earth's future in a way as their own Earth had been altered. Keeping their true identities a secret was the most efficient way of doing this.

Yet, Hotaru had to concede that Trunks would simply not accept whatever lie that she or her family could come up with. The boy was not an idiot, and with his own experiences of concealing what identity resided behind the mask of Trunks Briefs, he would likely know right away that she was lying to him. So, instead of playing dumb or resorting to ignoring the boy's question, Hotaru figured that a half-truth would suffice.

"I'm not from here."

Hotaru glanced to Trunks, finding that his eyebrows had risen upwards with an expectant look on his face, obviously waiting for the girl to reveal more to him. When seconds passed and it became clear that Hotaru was offering no more than that, Trunks stated, "_Here _can mean a lot of things."

Of course Trunks wasn't content with the answer Hotaru gave. This was a boy who had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, probably never lacking for anything and getting whatever he wanted. Sighing, Hotaru tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, "I can't be any more specific than that. Can't you just be happy to know that most of what you already know about me is a lie, but I am in no position to tell you the truth?"

"No."

"Why not?" Hotaru asked him, clearly becoming frustrated.

"Before today, I thought I knew everyone on this planet that was like me—who was able to do things out of the ordinary—and then I find you in some alley, being attacked, and then healing a wound that should have killed that girl," Trunks told her, locking their gazes. "I want to know why you're able to heal. I want to know what else you can do. I want to know why you came to my city, and why everything I know about you so far is a lie. I want to know the truth, and I want to know _you, _Hotaru Tomoe. Is that really too much to ask?"

Hotaru was quiet for a moment, listening Trunks's words with her heart tightening in her chest. She was uncomfortable with the situation, as she had never encountered something like this—like _him_—before in her entire life. What troubled her most about his words was that she wanted to give into them, to tell him what he wanted to know and forsake the agreement she made to keep her identity hidden from everyone, because she wanted to know more about him, too.

Looking away from him and sighing, Hotaru finally replied, "It is too much to ask. I'm sorry."

"_Why_?" Trunks pressed, seeming exasperated by how much Hotaru was trying to stonewall him. "If you're concerned about me spilling your secrets to just anyone, you don't need to be. Hell, you have ammunition about me too if that's what you're worried about, and I can guarantee that you telling my secrets would be _far _more damning."

"I'm not worried about that!" Hotaru insisted, her voice raising and finding that she was becoming more annoyed by Trunks's persistence. "It's the ripple effect, okay? _That's _why I can't tell you anything."

"The ripple effect," Trunks repeated, his face looking completely dumbfounded by the excuse Hotaru was choosing to use. "You're afraid to tell me anything because of _what may happen?_ Unless you're from the future or something, that's a terrible reason, Hotaru."

"That _is _the reason!" Hotaru growled, swinging her legs around to the edge of the bed and standing. She delivered a hard glare at Trunks before she walked past him, heading towards the door. "I've had enough of this. If you can't accept the fact that I cannot tell you anything, there is nothing more to be said."

"You're scared."

Trunks's sudden accusation caused Hotaru's hand to pause just over the doorknob, pausing in her step. She was _scared? _Hotaru wanted to turn around and laugh directly in Trunks's face. She had seen things in her several lifetimes and incarnations that he couldn't even dream of, had met the face of evil time and again without fear, and had sacrificed her life so that others could live on. To say that she was scared was ludicrous, and what could she possibly be scared of? She certainly wasn't afraid of Trunks Briefs, regardless of how strong he was in that Saiyan-or-whatever form of his or what kind of power resided behind his last name. The only reason why she wasn't telling him what he wanted to know was because she couldn't, and that was that.

However, deep down inside of her heart, Hotaru knew that she was scared. Again, she wasn't certain where exactly the fear was stemming from. Trunks was certain intimidating, but was charismatic in a way that made her want to tell him anything that he asked. If she really wanted to, she could have easily spilled her secrets to him; after all, he already knew one.

Still, Hotaru would not budge; it wasn't just her secret to keep. Quickly, she grabbed on to the doorknob and gave it a hard turn, pushed the door open and exited out into the hallway, leaving Trunks Briefs behind.

**A/N: **Review as always! With this semester winding down, updates may come more frequently but we shall see. Thanks as always, and until next time.

Kusari


	4. Tear Down the Walls

**Disclaimer: **The characters of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z are not mine, they belong to their respective owners.

**A/N: **I am so sorry about the delay in getting the last chapter out. Real life interfered big time, I ended up getting dragged into a management position at work which required me to be there 40+ hours a week. Finally, things had settled down enough that I can devote some time to this story again. Trust me, I never once forgot about this story or any of you guys that have been supportive so far. This shouldn't happen again, and once the new semester starts up, I should have a little bit more time for Ripple Effect. (So odd that I'm looking forward to the semester so I have more free time o.O).

By the way, **a new Sailor Moon anime is going to air in 2013!** On top of that, there's going to be a new animated Dragon Ball movie as well, so for fans of either series, a few things to look forward to next year.

To answer a reviewer's question: As of this moment, I don't have any plans for the Inner Soldiers to be in this story, but I will not rule it out. (Things can always change!)

**Ripple Effect  
>Chapter IV: Tear Down the Walls<strong>

_You're scared._

For the most part, Hotaru had gotten very little sleep over the course of the night. She laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling and watched as the shadows slowly crawled from one end of her room to the other. There were times where Hotaru's violet eyes finally fluttered shut and her heart ceased to thunder so anxiously against her chest and her mind was finally able to drift off to sleep. However, it wasn't long before Hotaru was chased back into the conscious world by yet another vivid nightmare of world destruction.

The hours spent awake that night were dedicated to the countless thoughts and memories that plagued her mind, most of which originated from the events from the previous day. While there were a great many things Hotaru found herself dwelling over, the two primary things that she found her thoughts drifting back toward were her family's reaction to the choices that she made and Trunks Briefs' words to her when she was in the hospital.

A positive response was not expected from her family when Hotaru informed them of what had happened earlier in the day, and she did not receive one. As expected, Haruka was the most outspoken in her displeasure of almost everything Hotaru had done; after all, the Soldier of the Sky always saw things in black and white when it came to a mission. It was always the same for Haruka, with the mission coming first and everything else was secondary. If a hundred lives had to be sacrificed to save a thousand more, it was something that Haruka would do without a second thought. If she had to sully her hands with blood and dirt in order for the Princess's future to be as it should be, Haruka would do it with pride.

That was the pride of a Sailor Soldier. Moreover, that was the pride of an _Outer _Sailor Soldier, who made the choices that no one else could make. Hotaru understood and even accepted this side of who she was, but she also understood how truly precious life was. Regardless of how much of an "incredibly foolish decision" she had made in regards to exposing her powers to save Mara, it wasn't something that Hotaru found herself regretting even now that she had been chastised for it.

Haruka was even less happy about the fact that Trunks Briefs knew about her healing abilities. The fact that Trunks wasn't so normal himself didn't seem to appease Haruka at all and, on the contrary, seemed to infuriate her more. Not only had Hotaru placed leverage within the hands of someone who was a virtual stranger, but she had placed that leverage in the hands of someone who was just as powerful than her if not even more so. Trunks was a person with the power to truly interfere with the mission should he choose to do so, and was immediately branded a threat in Haruka's eyes.

Mentally, Hotaru disagreed with Haruka's thoughts on Trunks. He truly had nothing to gain with interfering with the mission or exposing her abilities to others, and he seemed to be more concerned with getting to know her than anything else. However, Hotaru kept her point of view on the subject within the confines of her own mind, reluctant to further anger the Soldier of the Sky.

Michiru and Setsuna remained largely quiet, letting Haruka do most of the talking. Still, Hotaru did not miss the looks of sympathy shot towards her direction from the Soldier of the Sea. Setsuna, meanwhile, sat with her arms folded over her chest and a look of displeasure swimming in her eyes, not once looking in the direction of the youngest Outer Sailor Soldier. It was possible that Setsuna felt that Hotaru had stepped on her toes the hardest out of the three women, as she had stressed anonymity the most out of all of them.

The mess was small, but it was still a mess. Hotaru did not doubt that her family would eventually forgive her, but she couldn't help but feel like a failure as a Soldier for having displeased them all so much.

_You're scared._

It was his voice, his words, once again echoing within Hotaru's mind. No matter how much she tried to put Trunks Briefs out of her mind, he returned to tell her the exact same thing over and over again. She wasn't just scared—she was _terrified_. Those brutes that had attacked her and Mara earlier that day didn't scare her much at all, her family being angry with her didn't scare her as much as it disappointed her, and whatever demons or beasts that they had to face to restore the future back to the way it was didn't make her tremble at all.

Hotaru was scared that for the first time in five years, she wanted to trust someone else.

X

With the arrival of the next morning, Hotaru found herself standing in the bathroom and observing her reflection in the mirror. With her long-sleeved white shirt only buttoned up halfway, Hotaru was able to see the extent of her injuries from the altercation from the two men the day before. Across the top of her pale chest were darkening bruises that were just beginning to form, as well as bruises which marred the skin of her arms as well. Regardless of how much magical power Hotaru had within her, the bruises reminded her that her body could still be as easily broken as any ordinary human being.

The bruises also reminded Hotaru that Phem and the other cloaked man were out there somewhere, and she wondered if the two of them had anything to do with the reason why she and the Outer Soldiers were at this Earth. It seemed unlikely that the pieces to the puzzle that the four of them desired to solve would appear so quickly, but if they were to get that lucky, then perhaps the stay there wouldn't be long.

If Phem and the other man were truly involved with the situation of the future on their own planet, there would be so many more questions that needed to be answered. Why was the reason that they were destroying the future of their Earth? What was their role in the larger scheme of things, if there was a larger scheme, and what were they hoping to accomplish by her Earth's destruction?

"That looks like it hurts."

Hotaru glanced up to the reflection of the mirror, seeing Michiru standing in the doorway behind her. Quickly, Hotaru buttoned up the rest of her shirt and tucked it into her skirt before turning around to face her adoptive mother. "It'll go away in a few days," Hotaru informed her quickly as she reached over to the counter to retrieve her black tie. She slid the tie beneath the collar of her shirt and began to tie it. "What's up?"

"Well, _officially_, I was sent up here to tell you that Haruka wants you to stay away from that boy as much as possible," Michiru informed her, a small smile working its way to her pink lips. "However, I really just wanted to come up here to see how you were holding up. Haruka was pretty harsh last night."

Once Hotaru was finished tying her tie, she reached over to where her black school blazer was hanging and slid it on over her arms, pulling it over her shoulders. "She was as harsh as she needed to be. I messed up."

"Well, while I would agree with Haruka that you probably should have practiced a little bit more discretion, I don't believe that the girl had to die, either," Michiru explained with a sigh, leaning against the doorframe and folding her arms over her chest. "We're in a delicate situation; we're trying to save our world while not seriously altering things in this world. I think we've all forgotten how it is at your age, trying to balance who you really are versus the person that you want the world to see. It's not easy."

Hotaru felt a wave of bitterness surge through her, biting her lip as she fought the urge to voice the thoughts that were going through her head. Truly, none of them had any idea how difficult it was to be in her shoes. When she lived with her father, she was constantly at war with trying to keep her powers subdued and keep up the façade that she was simply a normal girl. After her rebirth it was slightly easier to pass herself off as nothing more than a normal human being with her family training her to control her abilities, but every day she struggled with keeping her powers reigned in so as to not reveal herself.

"It's _not _easy," Hotaru managed to mumble out, "but I'll do the best I can. I need to get going or else I'm going to be late for school, though."

"Have a good day, sweetie," Michiru bade her, stepping toward her adoptive daughter and placing a kiss against her forehead. "We're a family—we'll get past all of this and be home before you know it. I'll see you when you get home."

Hotaru offered Michiru a small smile before she walked past her, retrieving her backpack and departing for school. The change from the tense atmosphere of the house they were staying in to the outdoors was pleasant, with Hotaru giving a small sigh of relief as she felt the weight lift off of her chest just slightly. Perhaps Haruka's mood would have settled a bit during the course of the day, and maybe Setsuna would feel a little forgiving once she arrived home. Of course, it was likely that Michiru was already trying to work her magic on both of the women so that the road to forgiveness would be more quickly traveled. In any case, Hotaru was filled with a little bit of optimism that everything _was _going to be okay, and that they would get past everything quickly.

As Michiru said, they _were _a family, even if they weren't bound by blood.

"So you live with three other women, with all of you having different last names? Are you really adopted or is that part of the masquerade?"

She hadn't even heard him approach her, not even knowing he was so close until his words breathed hot air against her ear and she could feel the warmth of his body through her uniform. Surprised at his sudden arrival and invasion of her personal space, Hotaru's feet stopped moving and she stumbled, her body falling towards the ground. However, his reflexes were quick, his arm snaking around her waist to hold her steady until she regained her footing once again.

"What… _How_…" Hotaru couldn't form a sentence of what she wanted to say. Hell, she didn't even know _what _to say. She had anticipated running into Trunks at school and trying to avoid him there, but _not _a few blocks from her house first thing in the morning! Finally, Hotaru took a deep breath and pushed herself away from Trunks, freeing her body from the arm that rested around her waist. "_How did you find out where I live?_"

The corner of Trunks's lips curled upward in a smirk, and the arrogant look in his eyes was unmistakable. "It's easy to convince people to do just about anything when you wave a few bills in their faces."

"You _bribed _someone for my address?"

"Essentially."

Hotaru shook her head in disbelief. Why did she have to pique the interest of someone who had far too much at his disposal to make it impossible to get away from him? Still, she wasn't going to risk getting into any more trouble by getting further involved with him. "Trunks, listen, I understand I'm this new and mysterious person, but I really can't have anything to do with you."

Hotaru resumed walking towards school, but Trunks walked in step right along with her with inquisitive blue eyes staring down at her. "Why is that?" he inquired, one of his lavender eyebrows arched upward. "If you try to say it has to do with that ripple effect crap again, I'm not buying it."

"Will you accept the fact that my family has forbidden me from talking to you?" Hotaru questioned him in an annoyed voice as she kept her eyes locked in front of her. She just wanted him to leave her alone, so that she could avoid making any more mistakes throughout the duration of the mission. If Haruka saw the two of them now, it was likely that the Soldier of the Sky would send her right back through the Time-Space Door.

"If I listened to every time my Mom told me not to do something, I would have probably gone completely insane by now," Trunks informed her with a laugh. "Come on, now. I'm not that bad of a guy once you get to know me. We just can't share these secrets together and just go our separate ways."

"We can and we _will_," Hotaru said in a firm voice, looking over to him out of the corner of her eye. "I'm not going to risk getting into any more trouble."

Trunks moved so that he was standing in front of Hotaru, placing his hands against her shoulders to make her stop walking. His blue eyes were narrowed almost angrily, and the words that came out of his mouth came in a harsh whisper.

"You're so used to keeping yourself locked away from the rest of the world that you're all-too willing to use a thousand of excuses to keep it from getting close to you, aren't you? I take offense to the fact you consider getting involved with me as a risk that will get you in trouble."

Hotaru shook her shoulders free from Trunks, taking a few steps back so that there was space between the two of them and glaring hard into his eyes. "So what if I'm using excuses? So what if I want to keep everyone else as far from me as I can? It's my life and my choice, and I'm going to do what I think is right."

"Even if what you think is right will make you bitter and lonely?"

"You have _no _idea," Hotaru growled at him, swiftly walking past where Trunks stood. Her anger was reaching a boiling point, and she had to get out of there before she did something she would later regret. For the most part she had a decent amount of control over her powers, but in moments that were heated like these, it was hard to keep them reigned in. "You have no idea at all."

"_I _have no idea? Have you ever been called a monster and believed it?"

Trunks's sudden question immediately made Hotaru stop, resisting the urge to turn to him. While he tried to keep it masked, it was obvious to her that the question held a great deal of pain behind it by the tone of his voice. His question also made her recall the times in her childhood which she _had _been called a large assortment of names, a "monster" being amongst them. It was one of the primary reasons why it was just so much easier to pretend to be normal than anything but.

"Yes," Hotaru admitted. "Yes I have. My classmates enjoyed calling me what they will."

"Yeah, that sucks," Trunks admitted, kicking the tip of his shoe against the pavement of the sidewalk. "My ex-girlfriend had been the one to throw that one into my face. I was fifteen at the time, and was a lot more stupid back then. I was quick to trust people that I really shouldn't have trusted, and when I thought I found the right person, it totally blew up in my face."

Hotaru found herself turning to Trunks then, and the appearance of the boy honestly made her feel badly for the way she had been acting. His head was tilted downward, his lavender bangs covering his face and his hands were rolled up into fists at his sides. Sighing, Hotaru walked over to him until she was standing right in front of him.

"You…showed her?" Hotaru inquired hesitantly. She wanted to reach forward and place her hand on his shoulder in order to offer him some comfort, but she held back.

"Golden hair and all," Trunks admitted with a dry laugh. "It didn't go over well at all. It was a terrible mess that other people had to clean up, and I tried to pick up the pieces of my dignity after. After her reaction she couldn't be trusted, so we had to wipe her memory of the whole thing. I really wish they could have wiped _mine _too, but Dad insisted that was a lesson I had to learn from."

Being called names by people Hotaru didn't know was bad enough, but she couldn't imagine what it would be like to be called names by someone who you loved. She was certain that would have been far more traumatizing than some of the things she had endured throughout her childhood, and something that would have likely scarred her more deeply than the students in her middle school that enjoyed tormenting her. Hotaru didn't know how she would react if someone she loved had called her those things, but was certain it would probably break her.

"Listen, I know you have your reasons for wanting nothing to do with me," Trunks explained, lifting his head so that he was now staring into Hotaru's eyes. "I mean, hell, you've probably been through some pretty bad things in your life as well. But, can you really fault me for wanting to be friends with someone who I don't have to put up this charade of being a person that I'm not?"

Really, Hotaru _couldn't _fault him, but she still wanted to grasp on to every reason possible for them not to be friends. "You have Mr. Son and his family, don't you? I certainly can't be the only person on the planet that you have to turn to."

"They're like family to me," Trunks told her, "but after a while, turning to the same people to talk to and get the same opinions from gets old. Talking to you, even like this, is a breath of fresh air. I don't know anything about you, you don't know anything about me; I don't feel like I'm going to repeat a story that you've heard through the grapevine a thousand times before. So why can't we at least give this friends-thing a try and see if it works out? If it's more trouble than it's worth, I'll just walk away and leave you alone."

Hotaru folded her arms over her chest, staring up into Trunks's eyes hard. She found herself agreeing with most of the things that he was saying, even finding herself seeing the reasoning behind his desire to become friends. Above and beyond everything else that she had done before, this was probably at the list of the most frightening. Was she willing to place her trust in a boy she had just met, who her family had recently forbade her from seeing, and be his confidant and likewise? While her mind was giving her every reason under the sun to turn away from this boy and never look back, her heart was giving her more reasons to go along with this and see where things take them. After all, eventually she would be returning to her world and never seeing him again, so nothing about this friendship would be permanent.

"I have rules," Hotaru said quietly. "If you really want us to be friends, I have rules."

Trunks's mood seemed to lighten up immediately as it was obvious Hotaru was giving in. "Just tell me what they are and I'll do my best to follow them."

"My family can't know about us," Hotaru began with a sigh, "I don't disobey my family ever, and if they were to find out that I was deliberately doing so they would send me away. So, in order to keep my family in the dark, you can't just show up a few blocks from my house like this."

"I can do that."

"Next," Hotaru met his eyes with a serious look on his face. "You can't ask me about where I come from or what I am. I can't really discuss it because—"

"The ripple effect," Trunks finished for her, waving his hand in the air to dismiss it. "I understand. I won't ask you anything about any of those things. Anything else?"

"One last rule," Hotaru looked away from him as she spoke, "there will be a day where I'll have to go back where I come from, and when I do, you can't look for me. You will not find me, so please don't waste your time looking for me."

The last rule rendered Trunks quiet for several moments before he gave a swift nod of his head. "Deal, I won't go hunting you down if you suddenly disappear. Does that mean we're friends?"

Hotaru offered Trunks a small hint of a smile before replying, "Yeah, I suppose that means we're friends."

A/N: Okay, hopefully there won't be any super long delays in getting the next chapter out. T_T Again I'm sorry, and I hope you all enjoyed! Please review, and I will see you next time.

~kusari~


	5. Developments

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z are not mine. They belong to their respective owners.

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews as always ^_^. I'm really glad to see that you are enjoying this story so far! Out quite a bit earlier than the last time, so enjoy!

**Ripple Effect  
>Chapter V: Developments<strong>

The future—it was something that held a different meaning from one person to the next. When inquiring about the future to a child, one may reply something along the lines of a profession that they desire to have one day. For a person around Hotaru's age, the answer would likely be what courses in college they plan to take in order to pave the way to eventually have the profession that they hope to one day have. Eventually, once a person was a little older and finished with all of the education that they would need, "the future" could mean something along the lines of marriage and starting a family.

And then, there was Hotaru herself, and the future to her meant _everything_. There were simply not enough words to describe what her future meant to her; she wanted to see peace overcome everything so that the people that she loved and the good people of Earth would no longer suffer evil. She wanted to see the day that her Princess would one day become a Queen, and she wanted to see her beloved city become as prosperous as its counterpart from Chibi-Usa's future. A time where happiness prevailed over despair, a time where the warmth of the light kept the fears of the dark at bay—that is what Hotaru hoped for.

It was almost funny how a senior fieldtrip to a University made Hotaru realize that everything she wanted for the future had nothing to do with _her_, and everything to do with everyone else.

The words of the lecturers, doing their best to woo the senior class of West City Academy to enrolling in their programs, were drowned out by the overwhelming thoughts consuming Hotaru's mind. Really, the fact that she was so selfless regarding her future shouldn't have bothered her so much. She was a Sailor Soldier, after all; her life was dedicated to the protection of her Princess, so that meant that her future was not her own to have. Still, the reasonable part of Hotaru's mind argued that Usagi would not want that for her protectors—her _friends_—and would want them to be as happy as possible, doing what they loved to do. Usagi would likely become distressed should her Sailor Soldiers decide to cast their dreams aside for her sake.

However, Hotaru was in a unique situation compared to the other Sailor Soldiers. She was supposed to be the sleeping weapon, only roused from her slumber to destroy whatever was causing a decay which could not be reversed. Whether it was a planet filled with innocent lives who were doomed to die anyway, or an enemy of great power that few could surpass, Hotaru would unleash her ultimate power for the sake of all others. Her existence was a fleeting, only called forth for that single and grim task that she alone had the power to perform; destroy and die, reborn into slumber, and awakened for the cycle to begin anew.

At a time that she could not possibly determine, Hotaru would likely have to do her ultimate and final duty once again, which meant that planning for the future—a _human_ future—was for naught. Falling in love was a dream that she only allowed herself to have every great once in a while, as it was a selfish notion that would only cause heartbreak for both sides. Having children was simply out of the question, as it would involve too much emotional involvement that a person of her power couldn't afford to have. Even planning for a career sounded almost silly; what would be the point of it, really?

The students around her had an air of nervous excitement amongst them, and Hotaru felt as envious as she only felt depressed. It must be nice to be only concerned about locking in a single career path and following it; she did not have such a luxury. They had little responsibilities to worry over and no concerns over what major conflict may be lurking around the corner. They also had no idea that there was someone on this planet at that very moment who had suddenly robbed the people of Hotaru's own world of the very same possibilities that these students had at that very moment.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Trunks's voice suddenly pulled Hotaru out of her thoughts, making her gaze travel over to where he stood next to her. His arms rested at his sides, one of his hands loosely holding on to the University brochure that was given to all of the visiting students that day. As usual, he was out of dress code, lacking his black blazer and letting his white dress shirt hang out instead of tucked in. He wore an inquisitive look as he stared at her, likely knowing he wasn't to receive an honest answer but always seeming somewhat optimistic that it would eventually happen.

"Just thinking about the future," Hotaru replied, her voice distant. It was about as honest as she could possibly be with him, but likely far too vague to every satisfy Trunks's persistent curiosity when it came to her. Truthfully, she hated the look of disappointment that flashed in Trunks's blue eyes whenever she was either short or vague with him. It was easy to see that he was genuine about getting to know her, but there was just too much risk involved in revealing everything to him—much more for him than it was for her.

After all, she was a variant that should have never crossed paths with him to begin with.

"Yeah, _the future_," Trunks scoffed, his eyes narrowing and his nose wrinkling in disgust. "We're preached about it enough from day one, that we have all of these 'endless possibilities', but when we get to this point in our lives we realize that we really don't have much of a choice at all."

Hotaru stared at Trunks, her eyes widened in surprise at the unmasked bitterness in his voice. "I find it hard to believe that someone like you doesn't have a choice," Hotaru admitted. It was widely known that Trunks's family was far richer than any other on this world, and combined with the little-known secret of his Saiyan heritage that Hotaru was aware of, she simply couldn't conceive that Trunks's choices in regards to his future were limited.

"Believe it," Trunks told her. "It was decided that I would be the next president of Capsule Corporation long before I even knew what that _meant_, and by the time I realized what was to be expected of me, it was too late for me to fight against it."

"And that's bad…_how_ exactly?" Hotaru simply didn't understand why the whole notion of running his _family's _company seemed like a death sentence to him. As far as she was concerned, he was carrying on the family legacy and the fact that he was picked to do so should have been considered an honor.

"It's _bad _because it means that I'm going to be tied down to a boring corporate job for the rest of my life," Trunks sighed, running his free hand through his short lavender locks. "I would have liked to take some time off of school, to _travel _around just like my father did and to figure some things out on my own."

Nodding, Hotaru finally began to understand where exactly where Trunks was coming from. As Hotaru had to be tight-lipped about the most personal details about her life, Trunks had spent the past week telling her everything about himself and his Saiyan heritage. She found his stories to be very enthralling, listening attentively to everything Trunks told her from the battles that he and his father participated in, to the sad story of the Saiyan race and how they were drawn into near extinction. Trunks seemed to especially light up when he spoke of his father, idolizing the man who had once been a villain to the Earth and begrudgingly transitioned into something of a hero. As he looked up to his father so much, it was suddenly little question to Hotaru why he would want to travel around as opposed to taking the reins of the family company; he wanted to do some of the things that his father had done when he had been Trunks's age.

"Why not tell your family, then?" Hotaru inquired. "I'm sure Capsule Corporation would be fine for a few years without you at the helm; it's done fine so far from what I've heard."

"Only someone who has not met my mother would ever say that," Trunks told her with a darkly amused voice. "My Mom has had my future planned out for me since I was a little kid. If I were to tell her that I wanted to do something different, she would probably both literally and figuratively blow up, and _then _I would have to deal with my father; not exactly my idea of a pleasant evening at my house."

"Well, I'm not saying do something _different_," Hotaru clarified with a sigh. "I'm suggesting that you tell them to hold things off for a few years, so you can get the urge to travel out of your system. Maybe you could even put a good spin on it, such as saying you want more experience before you take responsibility for your family's company so that you can be a better leader."

A sudden smirk crossed over Trunks's lips, a genuinely humored look appearing in his eyes. "Hey, that's not a bad idea. Maybe I'll tell my parents that you'll take me to where _you're _from, and you can hide me out there until my Mom drops the idea of me becoming the president of Capsule Corporation entirely."

Hotaru shot a glare at Trunks, leaning closer to him and lowering her voice to a whisper so that the other students around her wouldn't hear. "I'm being serious, and you know that I can't do that."

"I'm being serious, too," Trunks told her in a hushed tone as well. "Maybe if you took me to where you're from, there wouldn't be so many secrets you'd have to keep from me."

Hotaru couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her lips at the notion of Trunks coming to her world. "Trunks, I don't think the people where I come from would ever be prepared for someone like _you_. I think you'd be a bit too much for them."

"You think?"

"You're almost too much for _me_."

"Almost," Trunks repeated, a smile stretching wide across his lips.

Rolling her eyes, Hotaru looked away to attempt to hide her small smile from his gaze. "You shouldn't be so happy about _almost_."

"I'm happy about _almost_ because a week ago, there wasn't even that. It means we're making progress, even if it's small."

Progress; it was something that both made Hotaru's heart swell in happiness and her nerves to twist in anxiousness. She really did want to pursue a friendship with Trunks, regardless of the hurdles that constantly presented themselves in order to hinder them from developing this relationship any further. However, Hotaru had to remind herself of the grim fact that—one day—she would have to leave and return to her world, making this whole friendship something that would eventually cause the both of them some distress.

It was sad that she was more focused on how things would end than how to further build them. Yet, that was the nature of the Soldier of Destruction. Her very existence was based on the end and what comes after, not what precedes them.

"Stop that," Trunks suddenly commanded with a firm voice, shooting Hotaru an angry look. "I hate it when you do that."

Hotaru looked openly confused. "Stop what?"

"_Thinking_; you overthink things way too much."

Before, Hotaru had believed that she masked her emotions well enough that other people couldn't read her so easily. She certainly underestimated how well Trunks would pick up her subtle facial expressions and the way how she traveled her thoughts so deeply within her own mind. Instead of being bothered by the fact that Trunks seemed to read her like an open book, Hotaru was more bothered by the fact that his observations of her were spot-on.

"Maybe _you _don't think things through _enough_," Hotaru countered, rolling her eyes at the lavender haired boy. "You're going through all of this trouble to get to know me when, one day, none of it is going to matter in the slightest. Eventually, I _will _be going home and, no, you will not be able to come with me."

"But you don't know _when_," Trunks reminded her. "It could be months or years from now, and there's no sense on putting your life on hold for that long while you're waiting around for things to happen. You act like living a little is the most frightening thing in the world when it should be the most _natural _thing a person can do."

Living _was_ frightening, and perhaps it was more frightening to Hotaru than even she realized. It didn't seem easy and it certainly didn't seem natural, especially when she had endured lifetimes of being surrounded by death and destruction. Of course Trunks couldn't possibly understand how she felt about life in general; he had no clue of the past that she came from, and she certainly wasn't providing him any hints to it. It must certainly seem easy to him, having come from a life where he had only participated in a handful of fights, to view as living as a "natural" thing.

Trunks saw life as a journey, and Hotaru saw only the end of it. That was something she doubted that they would ever see eye-to-eye.

"What was that?"

Trunks's words were spoken with surprised curiosity, causing Hotaru to look up to Trunks once more. The atmosphere around him had changed entirely, having gone from optimistically friendly to cautious and alert. He stood with his fists clenched tightly at his sides, crumpling up the college brochure that he held in one of his hands, and every muscle in his body was tensed up. He was looking away from her now, his gaze cast off in another direction as he seemed focus on something that wasn't in the room or even in the area. A confused look haunted his face, his eyebrows drawn together and downwards with narrowed eyes, his lips slightly parted. He seemed unsure but prepared, his body appearing as if he could jump into a fight at any moment.

"What was what?" Hotaru inquired after several moments passed without elaboration. She recognized the body language Trunks was giving off—she had seen it enough on her comrades and on herself many times over—but she wasn't exactly sure what had happened to cause him to be alert like he was. Nothing seemed to be amiss around them, and Hotaru hadn't sensed anything out of the ordinary that would otherwise draw her attention elsewhere.

"It's just—that _can't _be right…" Trunks muttered quietly, appearing to be talking more to himself than he was attempting to answer Hotaru's question. He looked over to Gohan, and when Hotaru followed his gaze over to their homeroom teacher and his friend, she saw that he mirrored Trunks's look on his own face.

Something was going on, and Hotaru didn't have a clue as to what it was.

"Trunks?" Hotaru called out in a soft voice, reaching forward to tug at the sleeve of his shirt as she tried to gain his attention. She didn't like being kept out of the loop, and if there was something going on—something that could possibly be linked to the reason why she was there—she wanted to know about it. "What's going on?"

Trunks never had the chance to answer her. A faint buzzing sound pulled Trunks out of his concentration then as he reached into his pocket, pulling out his vibrating cellphone. He only glanced at the caller ID display for a moment before he answered his phone, setting the device against his ear. "Mom? Are you okay? …_What? _That _just _happened? Was anyone hurt? …Okay, give me a few minutes and I'll be down there. …Love you, too, later."

As Trunks dropped his cellphone into his pocket, he looked to Hotaru with a grim look on his face. "Someone broke into Capsule Corporation's Research and Development Department. I need to go check it out."

Gohan approached then, wearing a look of concern. "No one was hurt, right?"

"No, but apparently they trashed some of the offices and hacked into the computers," Trunks informed them. "But, Gohan, did you feel _that_ just a moment ago? There's no way that was a coincidence…"

"Feel _what_?" Hotaru pressed, feeling frustrated that she still wasn't aware what was going on.

Gohan lowered his voice down to a whisper, likely doing so to keep the students around them from overhearing. "Someone with a very strong energy was nearby, and while it was just for a moment, it was definitely there. Like you said, Trunks; it's probably not a coincidence. I'll cover for you, so go ahead and take care of things at Capsule Corporation."

"Thanks," Trunks told him before looking to Hotaru. "I'll call you later?"

"Let me know what you find out," Hotaru said. "I hope everything is okay."

Trunks merely gave her a weak smile in return, turning on his heel and taking off in a quick run, soon disappearing from sight.

X

_It's so late, and you still haven't called me…_

Hotaru had spent the better part of the evening completely distracted, waiting anxiously to hear back from Trunks and what had happened at his family's company earlier in the day. She hadn't expected to hear from Trunks prior to the end of the school day, so when the school buses returned the seniors to West City Academy shortly before classes were let out for the day, she wasn't overly concerned; after all, there was probably a lot that Trunks needed to help with following a break in and he was probably too busy to let her know anything at that time. However, once the afternoon transitioned into the evening, and day faded into night, Hotaru began to feel extremely apprehensive.

She didn't know for how long she had sat there at her desk, her arms folded over her opened textbook and simply staring at her cellphone that sat idly next to her. She was doing her best to combat her worries with reason, that maybe no news was good news and maybe there wasn't really anything to tell regarding the break-in. Perhaps Trunks was still busy, or probably exhausted after a long day having spent at a company that he would one day be the leader of. Maybe his phone died, and that was why he hadn't had the opportunity to get a hold of her yet.

'_I could just call,' _Hotaru told herself as she reached over to her cellphone and took it into her hand. What was the harm in giving him a call? At the worst he'd not answer, or he'd answer and tell her that he was too busy to talk right now. But, if he _was _busy and that was why he hadn't called her back yet, she didn't want to be a bother. After all, Trunks had said that he would call her later, so maybe she just needed to exercise a little bit more patience before she resorted to calling him herself.

Admittedly, Hotaru had never actually called Trunks before; it had always been him that called her, or texted her first. Even though this was something very simple that most people did without thinking twice about it, Hotaru felt awkward being the one to call or text him first. A small part of it was that she didn't want to bother Trunks as he was a famous person from an important family. The larger part, however, was that Hotaru simply was scared to take the initiative.

'_He would be happy if I called him,' _Hotaru tried to reason with herself further as she scrolled through her small list of contacts, eventually highlighting Trunks's name on the screen. _'Even if he was busy, he'd probably be thrilled that I called. It would show him that I care about our friendship and that I care about how things are going when we're not at school.'_

Hotaru hesitated still. Why was she so scared just to give someone a _harmless _phone call? The way that she was acting was utterly ridiculous. She could fight evil beings intent on the destruction of countless many lives but she couldn't give a friend a phone call just to see if everything was all right? Trunks was the one who wanted to be friends first, and there was no way that he would react badly to _her _calling _him_. Busy or not, he probably wouldn't really care. Hell, he would probably feel badly for not having called Hotaru earlier. People get caught up with things, forget simple things, and sometimes need to be reminded that they had forgotten.

After minutes more of mental debating, Hotaru settled on a text message. It wasn't exactly direct or intrusive, and Trunks could simply reply whenever the time granted it. It didn't feel as personal as a phone call, but an eventual reply would ease Hotaru's nerves as she fretted over what was going on with Trunks. Yes, a text message would be perfect in this situation, and Trunks would probably be almost as happy with a text message as he would with a phone call.

It was progress. Trunks was happy with progress.

Just as Hotaru brought up a blank text message and began typing up her message, her bedroom door suddenly opened with Haruka standing in the doorway. The sudden intrusion caused Hotaru to drop her phone and turn in her chair, staring over at the blonde woman in surprise. There was a serious look on her face, a look that Hotaru immediately recognized that this was the Soldier that was standing in her doorway and not the loving adoptive parent from earlier in the day.

"Let's go," Haruka commanded, "we have a lead."

X

**A/N: **Read and review as always, and I'll keep on trying to get these chapters out sooner. Anyway, take care, and until next time.

~kusari~


	6. Discovery

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z are not mine. They belong to their respective owners.

**A/N: **Trying to get these chapters out a little more quickly, but the new semester starts up in a little less than two week so there goes some of my free time. =( But, this chapter is a bit longer than usual with a lot of things going on, so I hope you enjoy.

**Ripple Effect  
>Chapter VI: Discovery<strong>

"So, how's it going?"

"It's _going_."

Trunks was beyond frustrated at this point and even the sound of his mother's genuinely concerned voice was only serving to irritate him further. After having spent the last several hours doing little more than reading computer code, fixing programming that had been damaged in the break-in and trying to figured out what files had either been accessed or deleted, Trunks felt as if his head was about to explode. He was certainly no novice when it came to computers and understanding programming language, but it was the magnitude of the mess that the systems were in that was causing Trunks to go into a state of extreme aggravation. This job had dragged on from the early afternoon to late evening, and Trunks was now feeling mental exhaustion beginning to tear at his psyche.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to take a shower and collapse in his bed, forgetting about the state of things at Capsule Corporation's Research and Development Department until he felt like revisiting the whole situation again. However, Trunks had learned stubbornness from his mother and pride from his father, so he refused to simply walk away from this until he had gotten to the bottom of what exactly had happened there today.

Trunks rubbed at his straining eyes as he continued to stare at the multiple computer screens before him, reading what was presented to him on each monitor. Breaking into Capsule Corporation alone was something unprecedented, but breaking into Research and Development—which was one of the most secure areas within the company—was something that Trunks still had a difficult time wrapping his mind around. It just didn't make sense to him that _all _of the security cameras seemed to fail in catching anything amiss that happened at Capsule Corporation that day, and to top it all off, every level of security protocol that was in place to make certain that this very situation _did not happen _was bypassed.

Fifteen minutes was enough time for someone to break into Capsule Corporation undetected, vandalize a few of the scientist's offices, and break into heavily encrypted computers without getting caught. The cameras within Research and Development had suddenly stopped operating during that time frame, and the employees who were working in the department at the time lost consciousness and were unable to provide an accurate account of what exactly occurred. After learning the finer details of what had allowed this break-in to occur in plain sight, Trunks was more certain than ever that this was not the job of any mere human.

"Don't you think we should just call the police?" Bulma asked, leaning down to pick a few pieces of papers up off of the floor. "It could be one of our competitors, after all."

It was certainly possible that the trespassing and vandalism could have been orchestrated by one of Capsule Corporation's competitors, but Trunks was having a hard time fully convincing himself that was the motivation behind what had happened. All of the evidence, or lack thereof, seemed to point to someone or some_thing _much more capable of pulling off such a daring break-in in the middle of the day, and Trunks sincerely believed that a business competitor wouldn't have risked their own reputation when the chances of being caught were so high.

"I don't think this is a problem that the police can help us with," Trunks told his mother. "If I'm right, and that large power spike I felt earlier is related to what happened here today, then this whole situation is going to require a bit more than detective work and the law of the land."

"Well, in _that _case, bring the bastard to me before you and your father beat the crap out of him," Bulma ordered her son, throwing her fist in the open palm of her other hand. "I want to make the guy wish that they never screwed with my company and me."

Trunks couldn't help a small chuckle at his mother's words. Even though his mother was but an ordinary human, she still was able to strike fear in those who were even much stronger than she. "Well, we have to find out who did it first. So far we have nothing but a trashed department and screwed up computers."

"Do you think this has anything to do with those two men that you ran into a week ago, the ones that were murdering those girls?"

Trunks shrugged. He was more inclined to believe that those men had something to do with the break-in than some competitor, but there was just a lack of proof to draw the line between the two men and what had happened. "I can't really say, but for a list of suspects, those guys are definitely on it. They weren't normal, so it's logical to believe that they could have pulled something like this off."

With a frown and a sigh, Bulma pulled a chair up beside her son and took a seat beside him, leaning forward and folding her arms over the top of her thighs. "I suppose ten years _is _too long."

Trunks arched an eyebrow as he glanced to his mother out of the corner of his eye. "Too long for what?"

"Peace," Bulma clarified. "It had been so long since the last battle that I let myself believe that the universe just ran out of bad guys to send our way, or that you all had simply gotten so strong that no one wanted to mess with Earth anymore."

"There's always _someone_," Trunks informed his mother, "it's a little conceited to believe that we're the strongest in the entire universe and that there's no one that could go toe-to-toe with us."

"I know, but you can't help your mother from hoping. I don't exactly share a Saiyan's enthusiasm for a close fight, and I don't particularly enjoying wondering if my husband, my son and the friends I love are going to come home in one piece or not."

"Even if we don't, there's always the Dragon Balls," Trunks reminded his mother with a small smile. "Even if we're in a hundred pieces, Shenlong or Porunga should be able to put us back together again."

There was something about the promise of a battle that caused a thrill to spread throughout Trunks's body. Fighting was like a drug that a Saiyan needed to survive and even though Trunks was only part Saiyan he still shared the same desire to engage in a battle where the outcome was close, where his death was more than a possibility. There was only so much that training with his father and sparring with Goten could do to satisfy his more primal urges, and as he had been nothing more than a child when the battle with Majin Buu had occurred, he never was able to fully appreciate the excitement of a real fight. Trunks was curious about the limits of his power and where they truly lie, and performing in mock-fights did not do enough to quench his thirst for battle.

Pinnacles were only reached through the difficulty and loss in battle, where failure stared one in the eye and laughed at their despair. Goku had attained Super Saiyan through this, and Gohan had reached the second level of Super Saiyan through similar means. Trunks wondered what would become of his own strengths should he be pushed to the edge as well, and if he could prove himself to everyone else just as the others had done before him.

Of course, he could also be jumping the gun and this whole situation could end up being nothing more than a slight hiccup before things returned to the dull normalcy that they had been for the past ten years. His mother would be pleased, but it would leave Trunks wondering when his time to rise would come.

"So…" Bulma's whole demeanor suddenly changed, now appearing playfully intrigued as she stared at her son with a smirk. "…Is the new girl in your homeroom class as strong as you guys?"

Trunks couldn't say that his mother's knowledge of Hotaru was at all surprising. If there was something that Bulma and Chichi excelled at beyond anything else, it was making certain that the Briefs-Son gossip mill continued to turn with whatever juicy tidbits that the two women managed to get a hold of. Trunks himself had not mentioned Hotaru to his mother, wanting to honor the air of secrecy that the girl seemed to desire above anything else. However, Gohan had already been aware from the incident on Hotaru's first day that the girl wasn't exactly normal, and it must have slipped out to his mother sometime within the last few days.

"Physically, absolutely not," Trunks answered as his fingers brushed against the keyboard in front of him, fixing an error in code that suddenly appeared on his screen. "Magically, I'm not really certain. She can heal wounds, but it seems to take a lot out of her. That's really all I know."

"That's _it?_" Bulma stared at her son in disbelief. "Well, where does she come from? I heard she looks pretty human—but so do you guys, so I guess _that's _not an indicator of being an alien or anything—but is she from another planet?"

"Possibly," Trunks replied, "but she's afraid of what may happen if she tells me anything about herself, so she won't tell me anything personal."

"Is she from the future?"

"I don't _think _so," Trunks sighed, running his fingers through his short lavender hair, "but I can't think of any other reason why she literally can't tell me anything."

"The future just doesn't change like that," Bulma informed her son as she shook her head. "Your future self—well, your _alternate _future self—is a prime example. Even though he traveled into the past in order to prevent the Androids ravaging the Earth like they did in his time, it didn't change the state of things when he returned to his own timeline. Everything remained as it was when he left it, but our future was changed drastically because of what he did."

Trunks looked over to his mother, an eyebrow raised. "Yeah, but when I—I mean, _he_—did that, didn't it create a multitude of different dimensions? If she _is _from the future, and if whatever she is here for is something that could cause a dimensional rift like he caused, wouldn't that be reason enough to not say anything at all?"

With narrowed blue eyes, Bulma shot her son a disapproving look. "I'm trying to _help _you here. Sometimes girls just need a little encouragement—a little push."

"I appreciate it," Trunks said, offering his mother a small smile, "but you have to understand something about Hotaru; she has her reasons for doing what she's doing, and she seems to sincerely believe in them. If I press too much about where she comes from, the trust that we've built between each other is likely to go to hell and she's going to withdraw from me."

"You really like her, don't you?"

Bulma was not talking about amicable feelings, and Trunks was immediately aware of that fact. He couldn't deny that there was something alluring about Hotaru that seemed to draw him to her time and again, making him unable to resist from attempting to learn more about the violet-eyed girl. Maybe it was the mystery that surrounded her, or maybe it was the fact that she was as far from normal as he was. There was even the possibility that Trunks was drawn to Hotaru simply because she was the girl who dared to constantly push Trunks Briefs away.

Trunks wouldn't say he loved her, as he had known her for too brief a time to have developed such strong feelings for someone he truly knew little about. At the same time, Trunks wouldn't at all be opposed to the possibility if their relationship had progressed in the direction of being more than friends. Certainly, a romantic relationship between them would be as simple as breathing; Trunks's lineage was already known to Hotaru and the fact that she wasn't normal either was already known to him. He could be himself with her without the need to lie, telling her honestly whenever he'd have to train for his father for the night or was already committed to sparring with Goten at his mountain home until the two nearly passed out from exhaustion.

There were complications that would make their relationship difficult, though. Hotaru was as tight-lipped as ever when it came to nearly everything about herself, and Trunks was certain that was something that would be difficult for him to overcome. Furthermore, Hotaru had made it more than clear to him that there would be one day that she would have to leave, and if she truly was from the future, it would be nearly impossible for them to ever see each other again. Of course, it was doubtful that Hotaru would even allow herself to pursue a romantic relationship with Trunks especially considering how hesitant she was to become friends with him.

Realistically, it just wouldn't work.

Then, something caught Trunks's eye, pulling him out of his contemplations. It was interesting enough that it took Trunks a few moments to actually convince himself that _this _may be some sort of smoking gun as to why Capsule Corporation had been broken into earlier that day. It was a collection of files that was deleted by whoever had broken in—possibly trying to cover their trail or bury the information of what was contained within—and after running a few processes, Trunks was able to retrieve the entirety of it.

"_The Titan Project_…" Trunks read before casting a glance at his mother. "Mom, what's this?"

"Oh, _that_," Bulma seemed disgusted at the mere mention of the project's name, her nose wrinkled and her blue eyes narrowed. "An abomination; that's what that was. The scientists involved made it look really nice on paper and they managed to garner the support of a lot of people on the board to obtain funding, but once I found out what the whole so-called _"project"_ entailed, I put a lid on it as fast as possible."

Trunks could feel his stomach twist within his abdomen, not certain if he really wanted to hear the details of the project or not. "An abomination?"

"Molecular research is how they pitched it," Bulma continued, her voice sounding more furious the more she spoke, "but after a little investigation of my own, I found it to be nothing more than human experimentation."

"That's illegal."

"No shit," Bulma huffed as she folded her arms over her chest. "I terminated the scientists before the project got off the ground and tried to bury the whole thing so that the public never got word of it. The last thing I want is Capsule Corporation's name to get drug down in the mud by some idiots who think they're gods."

Trunks's eyes narrowed as the pieces of the puzzle began molding together. It was possible that the scientists who were fired were likely behind the break-in, and that it was very possible that their desire to perform human experimentation could have been successful elsewhere, perhaps causing that sudden power spike from earlier in the day. There was a likelihood that the scientists wanted to cover their trail, and the best way of doing that was to go to a place where there was some evidence of what they were doing and destroy it as best as possible.

"I'm going to need all of the information on this project that you have," Trunks told his mother as he absently clicked through some of the image files that were connected with the Titan Project. Some of the pictures were uninteresting; pictures of random locations throughout the planet, images of several different ruins, and several pictures of magnified cells—which Trunks assumed were probably human. "I need to know who all was involved, too. Whatever I find out I'll pass along to Gohan and Goten, too, and maybe they can help me track these people down."

Trunks continued on browsing through the pictures as his mother spoke, "I do remember the lead scientists' names—it's pretty hard to forget the names of people who nearly sullied the company's good name, after all. One was Dr. Loki Celadus and the other…"

The last picture Trunks clicked on was different than the others; a happy looking family of three. The father stood with his arm wrapped around the shoulders of the mother, who beamed happily into the camera lens. The little girl, who couldn't have been any older than ten, had her back turned to the camera with her hands latched on to her mother's skirt, but she looked over her shoulder to offer a timid smile to the camera. Trunks did not at all recognize the parents, but it was the innocent-looking little girl that caused Trunks's eyes to widen and his breathing to stop.

Her shoulder length hair was exactly the same color of ebony, and the pair of wide violet eyes—which seemed to hold Trunks's attention even now—was most definitely the correct shade. If it weren't for the trio of names printed beneath the photograph, Trunks would have had a harder time to believe that this was indeed Hotaru Tomoe and her family during an earlier, happier time.

"…The other scientist was Dr. Keiko Tomoe."

X

Finally, there would be no more time spent waiting around; there was a lead, a direction that the Outer Soldiers could follow so that they could try to correct their broken future sooner rather than later. No more did they have to stand around idly and wait for something to happen before it could be followed up with, and now they were able to take the initiative. No, they hadn't found the needle in the haystack, but they might have seen a glimmer of it.

Hotaru quickly changed into an outfit more suitable for wandering about at night and investigating the lead that Michiru had uncovered, largely thanks to her Deep Aqua Mirror that had frequently assisted the Soldier of the Sea with her precognitive skills. Instead of wearing her school uniform, Hotaru was now wearing an outfit which was entirely black; a long sleeved turtleneck, some tight pants and a pair of knee-high, lace-up boots. The other three women wore similarly colored outfits for various styles, all dressed in such a way so that they were able to slip into the darkness to avoid unwanted attention when they needed to do so.

There was only a little hope that the lead Michiru had picked up on would amount to something fruitful, as what she had discovered was vague at best. Her Deep Aqua Mirror only caught a momentary glimpse of a street sign and the outside of a building before fading entirely, the images only having lasted long enough to commit the visions to memory. In all honesty, the visions were barely enough reason to gather all of the Outer Soldiers together for an investigation, but as the location was revealed to Michiru with great distinction, Haruka believed that to be enough motivation for all of the Soldiers to check it out.

After looking up a bit more information on the location, it was quickly found out that the building that the Mirror showed had been abandoned many years previously due to a failed business endeavor. It wasn't easy to discern that the building was abandoned by merely looking at it, as the structure and the lawns that surrounded it was relatively well maintained, but the lack of security lighting was a quick indication that there was little power going into the place. Even the other businesses and skyscrapers surrounding the abandoned building, most having closed many hours previously, revealed sporadic lighting in their transparent windows.

Hotaru was as nervous as she was excited; she wasn't exactly thrilled about the fact that they had to break into the building in order to get inside, but she had to do what was necessary to set things right. However, her thoughts would occasionally travel back to Trunks and how he was faring, wondering if his own situation had been resolved during the time that she had left home to check out the lead. Over the course of time, Trunks became less of a passing thought and more of a consuming worry; had he called her yet, or texted her? Had he not done either, and maybe he was still swamped with work to do and things to help out with at Capsule Corporation?

She should have called earlier. She could have texted him earlier. Now, she was having troubles focusing on the task at hand.

Eventually, the four women split into groups of two, with Haruka and Michiru heading off together as they always did in situations like these while Setsuna and Hotaru paired up. There was simply too much space to cover in a small amount of time to do so as a group, and as no one felt particularly comfortable with each woman going off on their own, pairing off seemed to be the most logical of solutions. Still, it was doubtful that the entire building would be searched before sunrise—or if they'd manage to find whatever the Mirror was trying to point out to them—and it was more likely that they'd have to vacate the building before anything would be found.

"You seem distracted tonight," Setsuna observed suddenly. "Is something the matter?"

Hotaru had hoped that her concerned thoughts over the half-Saiyan boy weren't as obvious as it had felt. However, Setsuna was more perceptive than most and generally picked up on things that others tried to keep hidden.

"I have a lot on my mind," Hotaru admitted simply as she stepped into what was likely an office at one time before the building was abandoned, casting a glance through the vacant room before dismissing it as anything worth investigating further.

"About school?" Setsuna pressed on, giving a slight glance into a passing room before moving onward. Hotaru shared a unique relationship Setsuna, as she felt more like a sister or an aunt than a parental figure. While she knew that she could talk to any member of her adoptive family, she felt that it was Setsuna that would understand her better than most, mostly due to the fact that both of their existences had—at one time—been most confining and solitary. Being around Setsuna was comfortable for Hotaru; she didn't feel like she had to talk when it was quiet, and didn't feel like she had to pretend to be something that she wasn't.

It was because of this close relationship that Hotaru found it so hard not to be upfront with her with what was really going on.

"It's something like that."

"Ah, I see."

Setsuna wasn't stupid. It was probably obvious to her that Hotaru was keeping something from her, making the younger girl feeling even guiltier for having been "sneaking" around on her family. She was disobeying them by merely speaking to Trunks, and it was likely that most of them would feel some sort of betrayal due to the fact that she not only was disregarding the wishes of her family, but that she was defying the order of Haruka, the leader of the Outer Soldiers.

"So, do _you _have any idea what we're trying to find here?" Hotaru asked suddenly, eager to change the subject. Perhaps if she tried to immerse herself in a conversation that had nothing to do with school, then maybe she could put Trunks out of her mind until this investigation was over with. "Is it a symbol, an object, or a person?"

"None of us really have any idea," Setsuna admitted with a sigh. "It's quite frustrating, really. It could be something small and easily missed, or Michiru could have read the visions wrongly. There is simply no way to know for sure until we've checked this place out."

Hotaru frowned. "You don't think this is a waste of time, do you?"

Setsuna responded with a shrug, saying, "It's better than staying at the house and waiting. I would venture to say that _that _is far more infuriating."

Hotaru had to agree, but it wasn't as if she didn't have something that she could otherwise pass her time with. School was more bearable as there was someone there who was interesting and fun to talk with, even though Trunks was the one doing most of the talking. Shamefully, Hotaru had to admit she had spent most of the last week more interested in Trunks than concerned over the reason that she came to his world for. Yes, she wanted to fix the future, but it was just easier to relax and be something that resembled _normal_, especially when there wasn't much else going on.

'_There I go, worrying about him again,_' Hotaru thought as she shook her head at herself. She was certain everything was _fine_, and it wasn't like Trunks was some weak human being that couldn't take care of himself. He was strong, and his family and friends were strong, so she was certainly wasting time in fretting over how things were going on his end.

She needed to focus. This was important.

Throughout the night, Hotaru continued to struggle with keeping her concentration in check, and the fact that the two of them were coming up with nothing was not helping matters at all. Regardless of how thorough the two of them checked floor after floor, there seemed to be nothing amiss or anything that struck them at all interesting. With so much time searching around and finding nothing, Hotaru's thoughts became more centered on Trunks and how his own situation was going, and as time dragged on, Hotaru began to look more forward to going home and seeing if her phone had any messages waiting for her.

Hours later, it was Haruka and Michiru who found the other two women first.

"I think this was a wild goose chase," Haruka stated, with her arms crossed over her chest. "We're going to call it a night, but Michiru and I might come back here tomorrow."

Setsuna shot the two women a surprised look. "Just you two?"

Hotaru was surprised by Haruka's words as well, but she was more confused than anything. "But if you think this is a wild goose chase, why come back here at all?"

"To make sure that nothing was overlooked," Haruka replied in a tone that indicated that was all she was going to say about the matter. "Let's go back to the house."

"Okay," Hotaru said, still feeling confused. It wasn't like Haruka to simply give up on something that she herself insisted on doing, but she knew better than to question it. Haruka was the leader, after all, and Hotaru couldn't say that she was displeased for the search being called off early. At least now she could return home and check her messages, because certainly by now Trunks would have attempted to contact her and ease her worries, allowing her to focus on things that required her undivided attention.

Still, Hotaru had a nagging feeling that something was amiss. The atmosphere that came off Haruka and Michiru was certainly different than it had been when the four of them had arrived there, and while it was likely that atmosphere could have been caused from the frustration of not finding anything, Hotaru believed that there was something more going on. The silence that shrouded the group on the return home, while not uncommon for the Soldier of Destruction and the Soldier of Time, was certainly odd for Haruka and Michiru. When the four of them finally arrived home, Haruka and Michiru immediately disappeared to their room while Setsuna simply bade Hotaru a quick "goodnight" before departing to her own bedroom.

Troubled but shrugging it off, Hotaru kicked her shoes off at the door and traveled up the stairs to her bedroom. She walked through the doorway and flicked on the light before she grabbed on to the doorknob and pulled the door shut behind her. She crossed the distance from her door to her desk where her cellphone remained, picking up the device and turning the screen on.

There were no messages, no missed calls, _nothing_.

"Why hasn't he called me?" Hotaru sighed, now feeling more worried than ever. She stared at the time that presented itself at the top right corner of her phone's display, upset that the hour was already so late—or so early, depending on how one would look at it—and knew that there was no way she could call him now. If he had spent all day at his family's company, the last thing he would feel like doing was talking about it, so maybe it was best to wait later that morning for when she would see him at school.

"Hotaru."

His voice, sudden and unexpected, caused Hotaru to startle. She gasped, turning around suddenly and nearly tumbling back into the desk that sat behind her. Her eyes were wide as she stared at Trunks, leaning against her bedroom wall right beside her door, with his hands shoved in his pockets as he stared directly at her. His face and eyes revealed how exhausted he felt, and he had yet to change out of his school uniform from earlier in the day.

"How…why…" Hotaru was finding it hard to breathe still, her heart thudding hard in her chest as she continued to try to settle her jumbled nerves. "How did you get in here? _You shouldn't be here!_"

"I know," Trunks answered, his voice sounding tired with a hint of sadness to it. "I just couldn't see this being a good conversation to have over the phone."

"It couldn't wait until school?" Hotaru inquired, finally able to catch her breath and stand on her own feet without stumbling over something. She cast an angry glance at Trunks as she set her hands on her hips. "Anyway, how did you find out which one was my room?"

"Your curtain was open, and it was pretty easy to tell," Trunks acknowledged with a slight shrug of his shoulders before he looked to Hotaru, looking as serious as he ever had. "But that isn't important. And, no, this wouldn't be a suitable conversation to have at school."

"Okay…" Hotaru stared into Trunks's eyes, feeling uncertain. "Does this have to do with what happened at Capsule Corporation today?"

"Yes," Trunks told her and locked his gaze with hers, "but it has just as much to do with you, Hotaru."

Hotaru shot Trunks a confused look, not certain as to how anything that happened at Capsule Corporation could have anything to do with her. She had never seen the place in person, much less been anywhere near it. "Excuse me?"

"I understand that asking you about personal information is a line that I'm not supposed to cross," Trunks told her, his eyes narrowing just slightly as he continued to stare at Hotaru. "You have your reasons to keep your secrets, and I respect that. But, I think you should know that there was a pretty extensive file strictly about _you _on Capsule Corporation's hard drives."

In an instant, Hotaru felt her heart drop down to her stomach and the blood in her veins suddenly ran cold. For a moment she stopped breathing completely, not realizing that she had done so until her lungs burned within her chest as they begged for some fresh air. When she breathed again, her every breath came in quick and silent pants, and she could feel her fear of discovery and confusion of the unknown taking hold of her entire body.

Before Trunks even spoke, Hotaru had a feeling that there were no more secrets between them.

Trunks seemed to notice Hotaru's sudden change in demeanor, but he didn't seem to be surprised by it. He tried to offer the girl a consoling look, reaching forward to set his hand on her upper arm, offering it a gentle squeeze of comfort. "Your life hasn't been easy, has it?"

When Hotaru had met Trunks, a small crack had formed in the once sturdy wall around her heart. Over the course of the past week, he seemed to gradually chip away at it, making the foundation of the wall unsteady but—until this point—the wall was still very much there. Now, Hotaru could feel huge chunks of that wall beginning to fall and crumble to the ground, leaving it in a state of instability. She felt exposed, she felt _weak_, and she very much hated the desire she had to either curl up on the ground below her feet or rush into his arms to seek more of the comfort he seemed willing to give her.

"What did…" words were failing her. As much as she wanted to ask him what kinds of information about her was in those files, she just as much did not _want _to know. Unlike Trunks, there were no tales of grandeur from her past; there was only despair, of how her family had been torn apart from one event and the ugly side of humanity had shown its face to her time and again.

"I know about the accident," Trunks acknowledged, "the laboratory explosion that killed your Mom and left you injured. I know your father wasn't a good guy."

"He was a _monster_," Hotaru told him suddenly, her voice barely above a whisper and each word spoken unevenly. She was somewhat surprised that those words even came out of her mouth, as she still loved on her father on some level, regardless of what he had put her through when she was a child. He neglected her, leaving her in the hands of a mentally abusive witch, and had basically thrown her to the wolves that was the study body of Infinity Academy. In the end, he was truly a monster, possessed by one of the demons that he helped bring to the Earth.

"I'm sorry," Trunks said to her, genuine sympathy in his voice and eyes as he stared down at her. It must have caused him a measure of discomfort to see her as distressed as she seemed, as he suddenly changed the subject. "Where is Tokyo, Japan, anyway? I've never heard of it before."

"Far, far away," Hotaru replied, still unable to speak in a normal and confident voice. The corners of her eyes burned, desiring to release tears that had not fallen in a very long time.

"Is it here on Earth?" Trunks pressed, squeezing her upper arm again as he tried his best to pull her out of the hole of despair he had some hand in dragging her into.

"It's on _an _Earth; a different Earth of a different time."

He tried offering her a small smile. "I'd like to hear about it when you feel up to telling me about it."

Hotaru felt a small rage burst out from within her then, reaching up to Trunks's hand and pulling it off of her arm as she stepped away from him, glaring her anger at the lavender haired boy that stood in front of her. "You are so _stupid_. You have all of this information about me, but do you have any idea _who _you're talking to—who you're putting your hands on? I'm a person who has destroyed planets with innocent people still living on them. I have more blood on my hands than you will _ever _be able to conceive, and you want to stand here and be all friendly with me?

"I am known as the Soldier of Destruction, the Soldier of Death and Rebirth, and for all that you know I could be here to bring ruin to your own world," Hotaru continued, her voice becoming louder with every word, and she could feel tendrils of power swirling around her as she was beginning to lose control. Yet, she didn't care. "I could end up killing your family, your friends, and even _you _when everything is said and done. Yet you want to _befriend_ me? You want to get to _know _me? Some protector of the world you are; you can't even discern a threat when it's right in front of your _face_."

Trunks simply stood there as she ranted on, expressionless yet standing firm, his eyes never leaving hers as she spoke. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but at the same time she didn't want to know. She wanted to push him away so that he wouldn't come near her again, so that he wouldn't _dare _come near her again. Hotaru wanted to show him how foolish he was to believe that anything happy or good could ever come from her; she was the embodiment of ruin and that was the only thing that she knew well.

After all, she was just as much of a monster as her father was.

"I'm here—_we're _here—so we can return our own future to the way it was supposed to be, and if that means destroying your precious life here, I might just have to do it," Hotaru clenched her fists tightly at her sides, and she could feel her hair beginning to flow around her as her powers began to emerge from her body. "You are so stupid—"

She was cut off then unexpectedly, no longer able to use her lips to speak and her eyes wide in shock. Trunks had effectively silenced her, by placing his hands on each side of her face and leaning into her, pressing and moving his warm lips against her own.

X

**A/N: **I hope you all enjoyed, and until next time! =D Please review!

~kusari~


	7. Separate Ways

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z are not mine. They belong to their respective owners.

**A/N: **Where to start… I've had this chapter sitting here for almost three months and nearly ready to go, but real life honestly sucks. It's been work, school, and the health issues of someone close to me that's caused me to put this story on hold. I did not mean to leave such a cliffhanger last chapter, but like said, real life sucks.

So I give to you one of the longest chapters yet, so enjoy.

**Ripple Effect  
>Chapter VII: Separate Ways<strong>

Hotaru had never before been filled with so many conflicting thoughts and emotions at once. To say she was surprised by Trunks's actions was the understatement of the century, and having never been in a situation quite like the one she currently found herself in, she wasn't entire sure how to react to it. Pushing him away and yelling at him for his brazen behavior would have been the right thing to do, but she hesitated to do so. The muscles in her body had locked up, and her heart beckoned her to throw her arms around his neck and allow his lips to devour hers to his contentment.

Hotaru could not deny that Trunks kissing her felt _good_ and she could not deny that there was a fire which burned within her that desired more. It was only briefly that Trunks separated his lips from hers before he would lean his head in towards hers once more, meeting his lips against hers again and again. She swore that each time he came in to steal another kiss from her that he was stealing the very air out of her lungs, making her feel light-headed to the point she believed that she would drop to the floor at any moment. His hands continued to rest at each side of her face, his skin against her cheeks electrifying her skin in the most pleasant of ways.

Trunks Briefs was in her bedroom in the middle of the night, kissing her in a way that she had only dared to occasionally fantasize about. This was really happening; it was not some dream that was derived from years of suppressing her teenage hormones, and the feelings he was creating within her assured her that this was nothing imaginary. Trunks, a boy who could easily have any girl that he wanted, was kissing her in a fashion that made her feel desired and treasured, making her feel as if she was the only girl in existence.

And Hotaru could not comprehend _why. _Why her? She was the night to Trunks's day, and both of them were opposites in far more ways than they were similar. Trunks was an extroverted personality, well-liked amongst both the students and the faculty at school, and he always seemed to have something interesting to talk about. Hotaru on the other hand was as introverted as introverted people came, excelling academically but deflecting more attention than she received. Trunks was handsome, having looks that could easily garner him a place on the front cover of any magazine, and while Hotaru didn't necessarily believe that she was ugly, she did not find anything remarkable about her looks and found any notion that she was attractive laughable.

No, it just didn't make any sense, especially considering Hotaru had just admitted to murdering innocents and destroying worlds, that she had sinned and had the power to do so again. She had told Trunks that she was capable of killing the people he loved the most, yet he responded to her in a way that wanted to make her feel nothing like the monster that she wanted him to believe that she was. It left her confused as to what the boy was thinking—if he was thinking _at all_—and if all of this was just some momentary lapse in judgment that he would later regret.

Trunks parted his lips from hers once again but they did not retreat far, lingering just a hair's distance from Hotaru's. His tongue darted out to lick his lips before retreating back inside of his mouth, his lips parting to allow his rapid breaths to escape through them. His hands remained at the sides of her face, his thumbs tracing the contours of her cheekbones. "Kiss me back," he directed her, his husky voice so quiet that it was barely a whisper.

Kiss him back? Hotaru's heart, which was already drumming hard within her chest, began to throw itself against her ribcage in an attempt to break free. She had been too surprised, too _confused_, to even think about returning any one of Trunks's affections. Even though he had already dominated her lips several times over, Hotaru felt embarrassed at the thought of being an active participant and repaying to him what he had done to her. Mostly, she was mortified at the possibility of doing it _wrong_.

Hotaru found her head already shaking from side to side before she even thought to speak, her voice the weakest she had ever heard it. "No."

"_Please_," Trunks begged her in a voice that made it hard for her to deny him what he wanted. His blue eyes, burning with a desire that was reserved only for her, met her violet eyes for a brief moment before he pressed his lips to hers once again.

This time, Trunks's lips were not gentle. Now, they pressed against her lips with a feverish enthusiasm that Hotaru had never before experienced, making her knees feel week and her stomach twist in anticipation for each new sensation that his lips caused her. The touch of one of his hands disappeared from her face and dropped down, and soon Hotaru was reunited with its presence at the side of her hip, his strong fingers giving it a squeeze. His other hand slid from her cheek to rest at the base of her head, tangling his fingers in her ebony strands and tilting her head backwards just slightly so that he could more easily consume her mouth.

It was then that all conscious thought seemed to leave Hotaru, her eyes fluttering closed and allowing herself to become completely dominated by Trunks. Her slender arms reached around his torso, her hands grabbing fistfuls of the fabric of his white shirt as she held on for the ride, for the descent Trunks was dragging her down into. Emboldened by the lack of inner questioning that her mind frequently provided, Hotaru's lips tentatively moved back against the lavender haired boy's, still uncertain.

Hotaru's actions were fuel to the fire, and the fire roared in response.

In one moment, Hotaru had been standing in the middle of her room at the complete mercy of the half-Saiyan boy. A half second later, she felt the wall of her bedroom behind her back and the entire front of Trunks's body pressed against hers. Her reciprocation caused desperation within Trunks, his breath coming in uneven pants and his lips breaking from hers, pressing a quick kiss against the corner of her mouth before leaving a trail of burning hot kisses down the side of her cheek and over the curve of her jawline. Eventually his lips made a gradual descent down the length of her neck before he tilted his head back up to capture her lips again.

Hotaru didn't know where all of this was heading, but at the same time she could not find a care to give. She had never felt more alive than she did at that moment, being held within the arms of a boy who could easily crush every bone in her fragile body if he so desired to. His touch electrified her skin, his lips burned her oh so pleasantly, and when the occasion came that both of their eyes open, it felt as if he was staring directly into her soul and seeing the girl that Hotaru had tried to hide away for almost her entire life.

Of course, moments like these are never meant to last forever or long. A firm, loud knock at Hotaru's bedroom door caused the two of them to suddenly break apart, Trunks inelegantly stumbling back several feet from Hotaru while she continued to linger against the wall, her chest rising and falling with her rapid pants. Their eyes were wide in surprise, and whether that surprise was mostly due to what had just transpired between them or the possibility that they might have been found out, neither of them knew for certain.

"Hotaru?" called out Setsuna's muffled voice from behind the door, sounding concerned. "Is everything all right?"

It took Hotaru several moments to regain some composure before she even thought to attempt to answer Setsuna. She pressed her hand against her forehead, trying to gain some control over her breathing and her emotions. Aside from being in a state of near panic from the fact that Setsuna was _just outside_, Hotaru was terribly confused as to what the hell just happened here. She looked Trunks, finding him in a state not dissimilar from her own as he looked just as puzzled as she felt. How did they go from having a serious conversation to Hotaru being completely furious to _this_?!

When Hotaru finally felt confident enough to speak without indicating any sort of lie, she replied, "Yeah, I'm sorry. I was getting changed and tripped over something, so I got a little upset. I didn't mean to trouble you."

Hotaru felt a small surge in anger when she glanced to Trunks, noticing that he was appearing somewhat amused by what she had just said. She did not hide the fact that she was displeased by this, delivering the boy a half-hearted glare.

A few moments of silence passed before Setsuna spoke once more, "Okay, I just wanted to make sure. Goodnight."

Both of the teenagers remained silent as they carefully listened to the sound of Setsuna's retreating footsteps becoming fainter the further she got from Hotaru's bedroom. They did not dare utter a sound or move an inch even when they heard Setsuna's own bedroom door open and shut, preferring to err on the side of caution until they were absolutely certain that there would be no one out in the hallway that could eavesdrop on the two of them. Minutes more passed before the two of them finally relaxed, releasing breaths that they opted to hold until everything was clear.

It was Trunks who broke the silence first, running a hand through his short lavender strands which seemed messier than Hotaru had remembered it being when she first saw him that night. "I should probably go before we get into trouble."

Hotaru hated the fact that she was disappointed that Trunks was going to leave, but she did not let it show. "Okay."

"So, I'll see you tomorrow at school?" Trunks inquired with an uneven voiced filled with nervousness. He seemed timid, his eyes having a difficult time holding their gaze with Hotaru's for very long before averting away, and his hands retreated into his pant pockets as he stood there, shifting his weight from side to side. Now that he was of a more rational mind, Hotaru guessed that he wasn't sure how to proceed from there; something which she had to admit sharing in common with him.

How did they proceed from here? Were they friends, or were they _more _than friends? Trunks had crossed a line and dragged Hotaru right along with him, leaving Hotaru uncertain as to what her true feelings for the lavender haired boy were. There was no doubt in her mind that she liked him before, but there was obviously something hiding beneath the surface of her feelings for him that wanted this relationship to progress into something more or else she wouldn't have reacted to his kiss the way she did. If her feelings for him were merely platonic, she would not want to feel his touch and his lips even now.

Hotaru had to ask him before he left, or she was certain her mind and her heart would drive her insane before the morning, "What does this mean?"

Trunks hesitated before answering, halting his nervous fidgeting as he stared upward in thought. He looked to Hotaru with a serious look on his face, though she could tell that he was filled with some anxiety, "It means whatever you want it to mean."

What _did _she want it to mean? Hotaru knew that she should be putting the mission first in this situation and immediately put a stop to whatever was trying to blossom between the two of them. However, the thought of never again feeling the sensations that Trunks caused within her tonight made her heart twist in a most painful way. A true Sailor Soldier would never put their personal feelings before a mission, but Hotaru desperately _wanted _to, regardless if it was the most incorrect thing to do. It was not often to meet someone that Hotaru actually liked, but meeting someone that she could possibly have a relationship with—however fleeting that relationship may be—seemed to occur only once in several lifetimes.

Looking to Trunks with her heart fluttering nervously in her chest, Hotaru answered in a quiet voice, "I want it to mean _something_."

The nervousness that Trunks felt immediately disappeared as a wide smile stretched across his lips, emitting a warm happiness that threatened to melt Hotaru right on the spot. "Me too."

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Hotaru told him, a small smile appearing on her own lips as well, feeling a small measure of bliss fill her chest. She could not recall the last time that she felt like this, hopeful for the passage into the next day and to see what a tomorrow could bring. Living to the next day always seemed like a painful chore, but now she was honestly looking forward to seeing what exactly would come of this new development in their relationship.

"Tomorrow," Trunks agreed with a quiet voice, his smile never fading. Hotaru's eyes followed him as he walked towards her bedroom window, grabbing on to the pane and effortlessly lifting it up until the window was opened wide enough for him to crawl through it. He maneuvered his body through the window, and as his feet touched the roof just outside her window, Hotaru remembered the reason for Trunks's sudden visit that night.

"Wait," Hotaru called out, running over to the window and propping her hands up on the sill as she stared at Trunks, "was there anything more that you wanted to tell me, with what you found out at Capsule Corporation today?"

"Oh, right," Trunks seemed to have forgotten until Hotaru mentioned it as well, a conflicted look appearing on his face before he looked to Hotaru again, his smile fading from his lips. "I'll just talk to you about it later, okay? I just want to end tonight on a good note before we jump into the serious and heavy stuff again."

Well, Hotaru couldn't exactly blame him there, especially considering the reaction she had from earlier. "Okay then, goodnight."

Trunks gave a slight wave to Hotaru before he slowly levitated off of the roof, both of the teenagers continuing to stare at each other until his body rose high enough into the air that it became difficult for them to see each other. Then, with a blast of energy that caused the trees nearby to hiss their displeasure, Trunks took off into the air and towards where his home was. Although Hotaru had known that Trunks could fly—he had told her about that ability in an earlier conversation—it was just amazing to see it, this having been the first time she had ever actually witnessed it. She wondered what it was like to move about in the sky as freely as a bird without the constraints of gravity to hold him down.

Hotaru lingered at the window for a little while longer before the chill of the cool night encouraged her to pull her window shut, drawing the curtains closed. She let out a sigh, still in pleasant disbelief in all that had transpired between the two of them that night. While most of the kiss was now a vivid memory within her mind, her lips continued to pulsate from Trunks's unrelenting lips, making certain that Hotaru would not cast aside the events of that night as some fabrication.

Once again, Hotaru smiled.

X

"_Crap_."

One word was really all it took to summarize Hotaru's morning so far. After it having taken far too long to get to sleep the night before—mostly thanks to a certain lavender haired boy putting a collection of pleasant memories in her head—Hotaru had fallen into a deep slumber that she could not remember having in _months_. No dreams of worldly destruction came to her that night, and there were no whispers in her subconscious about her being the cause of everything bad that was to happen. Even if it was only for a few short hours, Hotaru had actually _slept_, and she slept so well that she had not heard her alarm going off.

It was possible that she would still be sleeping now, and perhaps would have even slept past the first bell at school, had it not been for Trunks calling her first thing in the morning. Of course he had thought that she was already up and about, as Hotaru had made it no secret that she was a morning person, while his groggy and barely awake voice talked to her from the other end of the line.

"_Do you want me to come and get you?" _he offered when he heard her scrambling around on the other end. Hotaru had quickly thrown on her uniform and was in the process of shoving her books into her backpack as she cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder.

"It's not that far of a walk," she told him in a nearly breathless voice. "I just don't understand why no one came and woke me up."

"_You had a late night last night," _Trunks pointed out, his tone sounding quite smug.

Although irritated by the fact she was running behind, Hotaru couldn't help the small smile that came to her lips. "So I suppose I can blame you if I'm late for school?"

"_Sure. As a matter of fact, I'll go to Gohan myself and tell him that I was making out with you super late last night, so that's why you're all out of sorts this morning. Man, I am an amazing kisser."_

"And you are incredibly full of yourself," Hotaru nearly laughed.

"_For a damn good reason. Anyway, I'm heading off. Are you sure you don't want me to come give you a lift? Flying is a hell of a lot quicker than walking."_

"I'm sure," Hotaru told him as she flung the strap of her backpack over her shoulder, "I'll be there in probably twenty minutes, so I'll see you in a bit."

"_Okay, see you."_

"Bye."

Ending the call, Hotaru dropped her cellphone into the pocket of her blazer jacket and hurriedly exited her bedroom. As she hastily proceeded down the hallway and towards the staircase, Hotaru wondered if there would be sometime during the day that she could drag Trunks away so that they were alone and able to resume the discussion they had last night. It was obvious to her that Trunks had more to say about what he found in Capsule Corporation's computers the day before, and had it not been for her sudden breakdown and his unique response to it, perhaps there would be no question of what more remained that Trunks had not told her. No, there would not be another day that would pass until she knew the entirety of the contents of those files.

It bothered Hotaru that there was even a file that existed about her on this planet and regardless of what Trunks told her what the files contained she wanted to see them with her own eyes. History had shown that nothing good ever came from those who casted their lingering gaze upon her; the Outer Soldiers had tried to kill her because of their fear of her power and Chaos had used Nehelenia to hasten her Awakening after her rebirth. There was a good possibility that there was something within those files that would lead her and the Outer Soldiers into the right direction, and it was likely Trunks would overlook something that would be significant to their search.

When Hotaru arrived at the top of the staircase, a sudden realization dawned on her that caused her footsteps to cease and her breath to catch. The information that she received from Trunks could not be kept a secret from her family. This was the first real lead that they had since coming to this Earth, and she would be causing a detriment to the mission by keeping everything that she had learned and might learn in the future a secret.

This meant that, should she tell her family about what Trunks had found at his family's company the day before, it would also mean that her family would know that she had been disobeying her family by having anything to do with Trunks Briefs. Haruka was not likely to take Hotaru's defiance lightly, and who knew what kind of punishment she would receive for doing so.

"Good morning, Hotaru."

Having known Haruka for years now, Hotaru could easily pick up on the most subtle indicators in Haruka's tone that something was not quite right. The blonde woman's voice sounded flat and detached, making what should have been a warm and receptive greeting sound cold and fake. Nerves bundled in Hotaru's stomach as she found herself staring into Haruka's eyes, finding a solemn look within their depths.

Haruka was not alone at the base of the staircase, either. Causing Hotaru's nervousness to spike even further was the presence of both Michiru and Setsuna, carrying a look on their faces and an atmosphere around them which caused the violet-eyed worried over what had caused the mood to be so sour that morning. Like a moth to a burning flame, Hotaru's feet slowly carried her down the staircase even though there was every indicator to do exactly the opposite. She was frighteningly curious to discover what it was that awaited her that morning, but she had a terrifying notion that she already knew what was wrong.

She had been found out.

Hotaru _knew _that she had raised her voice far too loud on several occasions last night to have kept Trunks's presence there a secret, and it was far more than likely that Setsuna had been present on the other side of her bedroom door for longer than the Soldier of Time had let on. She felt betrayed, but at the same time she reasoned that Setsuna had probably originally eavesdropped on Hotaru out of concern for the girl. It was Hotaru's only hope at this point that what occurred _after _she had nearly exploded in anger still remained a secret, as Haruka would have been already furious that a boy was in her adopted daughter's bedroom at such a late hour and Hotaru was hesitant to wonder how the blonde woman would react to anything even slightly less than innocent occurring in there under her own roof.

"What's going on?" Hotaru inquired with an uneven, quiet voice. Although Hotaru didn't really want to know for certain what was causing the tension in the air, it was better to yank the bandage off quickly than draw it out any further. If she was in trouble for what went on last night, let the retribution fall upon her quickly so that it could be done and over with.

"Well," Michiru was the first to speak, forcing a smile upon her lips that did not meet the sullen look that resided within her eyes, "we've realized how selfish we've been in uprooting you during your senior year of high school and taking you to some alien version of Earth. One thing we wanted for you beyond anything else is to live a life as normal as it can get for people like _us_, and we were taking you away from enjoying one of the most important rite of passages in your human life.

"So, we've discussed it and come to an agreement," Michiru continued on, her lips trembling just slightly and her tone becoming more nervous. "We're going to send you back home until we're finished here, so you can continue living a life as a normal human being. Haruka seems to think we can handle the situation here with the three of us, so-"

"_What?!_" Hotaru was completely bewildered at the words that were coming out of Michiru's mouth, feeling slighted and disbelieving at the same time. They wanted to send her _home_? For a _normal _life, in the middle of a mission that could very well disrupt everyone on her Earth from having that very same thing?! The future as they knew it was crumbling to pieces, and they wanted her to go home to enjoy some stupid rite of passage that Hotaru truly cared little for?!

"I don't believe this," Hotaru told them, her eyes narrowed in both the anger and confusion that she felt. "There is no way you're sending me home. We have a mission to do, _all _of us."

"That's not for you to decide," Haruka interjected suddenly. "I think we've overestimated the situation we were coming into and we've left our Earth with half of its protective force. You should go home to help the Inner Soldiers protect the Princess and the Earth, just in case we're not successful here."

Hotaru could feel fury building within her as she reached a trembling hand out to grasp tightly on to the banister of the staircase. Her eyes stung with the threat of tears, her voice hardly even as she spoke, "So, what is it then? Am I supposed to enjoy my life back at home or am I just a spare that you don't need here anymore? Why don't you tell me another lie to try and convince me to go home?"

"You don't think we want you to try and enjoy your life?" Setsuna asked suddenly. "You don't think that protecting the Princess is an important job that we're entrusting to _you_?"

It was then that the gears turned within Hotaru's mind, causing a spark which made her fully realize what _exactly _was going on here. This whole conversation was not born out of a reassessment of what was needed on this side of the Door or the other. Although Hotaru did not doubt her family's desire for her to have an enjoyment of her unexpected second life, she did doubt that it was the reason that they suddenly desired her to return back to Earth. Moments ago she would have been relieved to know that this seemed to have nothing to do with what transpired between her and Trunks last night, but now she would have almost preferred it to the truth that was dawning upon her.

Hotaru settled her gaze upon the women before her, now feeling more betrayed than furious with her family. "You found something at that building last night, didn't you? That's why we left so early; you found something there and it has something to do with _me_, doesn't it?"

Hotaru's suspicions were immediately validated through the shocked looks that passed over the three women's faces, but there was no satisfaction to be felt from it. All that Hotaru felt was pain; pain that her family's first reaction was to tell her nothing and send her back home none-the-wiser of what was transpiring on that planet. They would have kept her in the dark about whatever was going on here, making it their burden to carry and not hers to have. They would treat her like the child she was not, keeping her oblivious and safe while they fought against whatever it was that waited for them here.

"I'm not a child," Hotaru told them in a voice that was barely above a whisper, fearing that speaking any louder would cause her to truly break into a pile of anger that would likely tear the house from its foundation.

"You're _our _child," Haruka said to Hotaru in a soft voice, the look of desperation in her eyes making her appear as if the strong blonde was about to shed tears. "You are _our _princess, and we have to protect you. We're a _family_."

"I'm a _Sailor Soldier_!" Hotaru shouted suddenly, her fury causing a tendril of power to whip out from her, causing the wooden banister to creak and crack until it shattered until it was little more than glass. "Why don't you think I can handle this? This is my job, my _duty!_ I can handle anything that this world or the next throws at me, so stop treating me like a little baby!"

"You can't handle this," Michiru told Hotaru with tears streaming down her face, running her hand through her turquoise strands. "You're our _daughter_, and I won't see you broken."

"You have to go home, Hotaru," Haruka asserted, reaching over to Michiru and giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "This is for your own good."

"No," Hotaru growled, her glaring eyes meeting Haruka's, "I'm staying here. Whether you want me to or not, I'm not going anywhere."

Setsuna sighed in frustration, "Hotaru, listen-"

"No, _you _listen," Hotaru interrupted, stepping off of the staircase, "I've been having dreams; dreams of the end of the world, dreams that replay over and over in my head almost every night, dreams that constantly tell me that I'm at fault for everything that is happening. For a long time I've known that they're premonitions, and I knew even before we stepped through the Door that there was something here that I was probably going to have to deal with, but I wasn't going to run away from it.

"So, I met Trunks," Hotaru continued, "you told me to stay away from him—and I certainly _tried _to—but he just isn't someone who can be pushed away so easily. Last night he came here to tell me that he found some information on me at his family's company. This information contained things that no one else could know but someone from _our _Earth, and more specifically, someone who was close enough to me to know the specifics about these things."

"Hotaru-" Haruka tried to interject, but Hotaru interrupted the Soldier of the Sky before she could say anything further.

"You know it's almost comical; a boy who I've known for such a short time is willing to come to me directly and be honest with me, even when he knew I was going to be upset about it, but my own _family _refuses to show me the same respect," Hotaru sighed and shook her head, shoving herself past the other three women and heading towards the front door. "I will not go home, not until I see this whole thing through and understand why it has anything to do with me. If you can't accept that, then I will just do this on my own."

Hotaru heard her family call out to her, but she ignored it as she threw the front door open and exited the house, slamming the door soundly behind her.

X

"You seem different today."

Trunks ignored Goten's observation, leaning against the brick exterior wall that surrounded West City Academy, is arms crossed over his chest as he stared off in the direction that Hotaru came from every single day. Whether he wanted it or not, Trunks found Goten a partner in his usual morning routine of waiting for Hotaru to arrive at the school, and today was one of those days that he wanted his best friend to leave him the hell alone as he waited for the girl. While Goten played the ignorance card for things that he cared little for, he practiced a surreal keenness when it came to picking up on his best friend's current temperament.

"You're imagining things," Trunks informed his friend with aloofness, attempting to dissuade the younger boy's interest in pressing the matter any further. There were times that Trunks willingly offered fine details to most of what Goten wanted to know about, but at this time he desired to keep him and Hotaru's developing relationship a secret from the youngest of the Son family. Everything with Hotaru required slow and careful steps, and breaking the news to one of the biggest loudmouths Trunks knew that things had gone from lukewarm to burning hot between the two of them would likely cause things to fall apart in an instant.

Trunks just hoped that Hotaru, having had a night and some of the morning to reminisce about what transpired between the two of them, didn't decide to pull away from him completely. This morning he found himself worried that he had moved far too quickly for the reserved girl to handle, and that was the cause for her tardiness this morning. The conversation he had with her on the phone moments ago should have eased his worries as Hotaru seemed to be in a fairly good mood, but would that change when they met again face-to-face? He found the girl incredibly hard to read most of the time…

"I'm not imagining anything," Goten persisted, narrowing his eyes at Trunks and wrinkling his nose in frustration that the lavender haired boy refused to be forthcoming with him. "Something _definitely _happened. You talked to Hotaru about all of that stuff you found at Capsule Corporation, right? What did she say?"

"That's kind of private stuff, Goten."

"I _know_, but I just want to know how it went," Goten pouted.

"If it was any of your business, I would have told you by now, wouldn't I?"

Goten scowled at Trunks. "You're being awfully evasive."

"And you're being _awfully _annoying," Trunks informed him, meeting Goten's scowl with his own. He was willing to humor Goten's curiosity to a point, and now Trunks found his patience with the younger boy beginning to wear thin. "Don't you have some freshmen girls that you should be chasing around before class starts?"

"_Totally _being evasive," Goten sighed in defeat, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black pants as he kicked at the ground with the tip of his shoe. "I get the message and I'll leave you alone, but I'm taking a rain check on the details."

Trunks snorted, but offered his best friend the slightest hint of a smile. "You might be waiting a while to cash that check in."

"It might be sooner than you think," Goten told him with a grin. "Anyway, I'll catch up with you at lunch or something?"

"You bet. Later."

Trunks's gaze followed Goten until he disappeared behind the wall that surrounded the campus of the school, and then he turned his focus back to the street that he expected Hotaru to walk down on any moment. He wondered exactly how things would be between the two of them today. It was possible that Hotaru could choose to ignore what had happened last night completely and simply continue on as the friends they had been before they had kissed, but Trunks highly doubted Hotaru could ignore such a development so completely. What was most likely, and something that frightened Trunks more than he cared to admit, was that things would change for worst, that Hotaru—who overthought things far more than what was necessary—would have reassessed her feelings and decide that it was better to distance herself than allow things to progress any further. Of course, there was the final and one of the lesser likely outcomes that Hotaru would allow herself to see how far their relationship could go.

Trunks wasn't going to hold his breath for that one, that was for sure. Having been greatly disappointed by his high expectations where girls were concerned in the past, he wasn't exactly prepared to let his feelings be stepped all over again.

Perhaps kissing Hotaru was far from the right thing to do, but Trunks had never seen someone sinking into the darkness of their own mind as quickly as Hotaru was last night. Rational thought had long disappeared from his mind at that point, and all he could really think about was bringing her back from whatever personal hell she had reserved for herself. Trunks could see and feel that she was losing control over herself, and over what destructive power she claimed to have, and did not care to see what would occur if she crossed over a line that proved difficult to return from.

So, he kissed her, and she reciprocated. The emotions that swirled within him then, and even the feelings which lingered in him even now, were far more momentous than anything he had ever experienced with Elsa. Perhaps it was the fact he was years younger then and was rather inexperienced when it came to girls in general, or perhaps it was because he was sharing a moment with someone whom he had worked so hard to rip the walls down from and was reaping the rewards of it.

Of course it could also be love, but Trunks had to scoff a little at the notion. Love was not something he gave or received freely, and although he certainly was enamored with Hotaru, he wouldn't dare mention the word "love" in his feelings for her. It was still far too soon for that, and he still felt the pain of the burn from what had happened between him and Elsa years ago.

It was then Trunks caught sight of her at the very corner of his eye, causing his head to turn so that he could look to her fully, taking a moment to admire the look of her shoulder-length ebony strands blowing in the morning wind. A relieved smile crawled on his lips before he even realized it, feeling some of his worries ease now that he could see her. However, the closer Hotaru drew to him, the more Trunks realized that there was something terribly wrong. The violet-eyed girl walked at a snail's pace, one foot slowly moving in front of the other, and her arms were wrapped tightly around her. Her head was tilted down, her black bangs covering her face from view.

Trunks pushed himself away from the brick wall, darting across the street that separated him and her without a care that he was running at a speed too quick that it would most certainly raise the eyebrows from any onlookers. Standing in front of her now, Trunks could notice that her shoulders were shaking and could hear the silent sniffling that made him realize that she was crying behind the mask of her bangs, and it appeared as if the arms she held around herself were doing everything they could to keep her from breaking into a thousand tiny pieces.

"Hotaru, what's wrong?" Trunks asked her, his voice filled with concern that he had for the girl before him.

Hotaru paused in her steps, lingering where she stood for several moments without uttering a word or lifting her head up to look at him. There were a few times that it sounded as if she was going to say something, taking a sharp intake of breath and her shoulders tensing up, but Trunks only received a quiet sigh in response, leaving him to stand there as confused as ever as to what caused the girl to come to school in such a state.

Then, without a word, Hotaru closed the distance between the two of them, pressing her face against the fabric which covered Trunks's chest. With no hesitation, Trunks's arms wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her close to him, letting Hotaru muffle her quiet cries against him.

**A/N: **Again, I apologize about the delay. Finals are coming up in about a month so hopefully I'll have a little time before then to get something more out. Hopefully it won't be almost three months before an update x.x.

~kusari~


	8. Aftermath

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z are not mine. They belong to their respective owners.

**A/N: **Had to completely rewrite the first part of this story three times before it came out with everyone mostly in character. I'm finally mostly happy with it, but things are going to progress along now!

**Ripple Effect  
>Chapter VIII: Aftermath<strong>

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Trunks's voice was soft and hardly above a whisper and the concern in his voice beckoned Hotaru to speak her mind. With hours having passed since Hotaru had broken down before him while they were in front of the Academy, it was only a matter of time after she had calmed down enough to speak and think coherently that Trunks would begin to inquire what exactly had happened to cause her to become so emotional. Still, Hotaru felt reluctant to speak of it for several reasons, but for the most part she simply felt embarrassed that she had cried and had done so in front of _him_.

But, what good would it do to talk about what happened? It certainly would not fix the damage that had already been done, and it would not make Hotaru feel any better about the fact that her family had attempted to deceive her so that she would return home and never learn the truth about what was going on this planet. Hotaru's belief and trust in her family had been shaken, and the foundation that had once been solid and firm had now been rocked to the point that she desired to be anywhere but where the other three Outer Soldiers were.

Even in the midst of her anger, Hotaru could admit that she disliked the negative feelings she had towards the Outer Soldiers more than what they had done. What had occurred between her and the Outer Soldiers was not beyond forgiveness—as Hotaru understood that they had only done so out of the desire of protecting her—but Hotaru certainly had the right to be upset with them due to their attempted deception. There were obviously things going on here that directly involved her and Hotaru desperately wanted to know _why _that was. Hotaru did not at all care for the wool being pulled over her eyes; the truth was something she wanted to know—needed to know—regardless of the consequences in the end.

Hotaru was not a child. While physically she was at the age of eighteen, which made her barely an adult in the eyes of everyone else, her mind and soul had several millennia worth of experiences that would cause most people to become weary. Certainly she could handle whatever it was that was going on here, as she had gone through trials and tribulations several times over in order to get to this point. Hotaru believed that there was nothing that this world could throw at her that would cause her feet to become unsteady.

However, when it came to the current state of affairs between herself and the Outer Soldiers, it made Hotaru feel most uncertain.

"My existence is a mistake, I think," Hotaru admitted suddenly in a tone that remained shaky and raw after her intense sobbing, her voice barely above a whisper. She pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and set her chin upon her knees as her bloodshot eyes stared off at northing in particular.

An unmistakably surprised look from Hotaru's words crossed over Trunks's face before swiftly shifting into a look that more closely resembled rage, with his blue eyes narrowed in fury and his hands curling into tight fists. "Where in the _hell _did that come from?!" he shouted, each word spoken with a small growl that further revealed the fury he felt.

"I told you that I'm the Soldier of Death and Rebirth, remember?" Hotaru spoke, her voice completely devoid of emotion. "Originally, I was only to exist at a certain time and a certain place—when a planet's end had been determined and I was given the task to erase it from existence. My powers are capable of destroying an entire planet, but there are limits placed upon that power so that if I were to use them it would inevitably cause me to die. The cycle would continue, with me only Awakening when it was necessary and never at any other time."

Trunks listened intently, the visible signs of his anger only subsiding somewhat. "So, what? What are you getting at?"

"Being able to actually _live _a life for once is something entirely new, and I don't think anyone knows what to do with me; I don't even know what to do with _myself_," Hotaru confessed sadly as the familiar stinging feeling returned to her eyes, threatening that tears were once again about to fall. "Haruka and the others have tried to give me a normal life. They are my family and I love them dearly, but they will always see me as the child they adopted and the frightening power that resides inside of me. I don't think they'll ever see me as anything else, only as helpless child that needs protecting or a beast that needs subduing when it's out of control."

The mattress beneath Hotaru shifted, and soon after she felt one of Trunks's arms circle around her shoulders, pulling her body close to his. If circumstances were any different, perhaps her cheeks would have been flushed for a very different reason other than crying, especially considering that she was alone with Trunks in his bedroom with him beside her on his bed. Time had escaped her from when she fell to pieces in front of Trunks, only noticing much later that her surroundings had changed from in front of the Academy to Trunks's home.

"You're none of those things, Hotaru," Trunks consoled her, the fury he had once felt having completely disappeared at this point with his voice taking on a softer tone in an effort to calm her. "I'm sure your family doesn't see you as a helpless child or a monster, either. When people love you, though, all they can see is someone they need to protect. Just because we're powerful enough to save the world doesn't mean we're invincible, you know."

"I know _that_," Hotaru sighed, lowering her head down to press her face against her knees, hiding the presence of fresh tears from Trunks's view. "But when there's something going on that has to do with _me_, I have a right to know about it. Sending me back home to hide me from it just isn't right."

Trunks blinked his blue eyes in surprise, looking down at the top of Hotaru's head. "They want to send you back home—to the 'other Earth'—to keep you out of the loop of what's going on _here_?"

"Yeah," Hotaru acknowledged, "they were trying to be sneaky about it, too. It made me so angry…"

"I'm not going to say that I agree with their tactics, but I understand where they're coming from," Trunks told her, sliding his hand up to her shoulder to give it a firm and reassuring squeeze. "As someone who has been in your shoes in the past, I can say that sometimes the hard truth is difficult to deal with and it can take years before you're able to summon the strength to move past it. They're probably trying to protect you from that pain."

Trunks's words caused Hotaru to lift her head, turning it so she could look up towards his face. "You've been in a situation like this before?" she inquired, the surprise and curiosity apparent in her voice.

"I wouldn't say that it was quite like yours, but the people involved were trying to do the same thing your family is trying to do for you now," Trunks told her, a sad look appearing in his eyes and a slight frown crossing over his lips. "It was back when I was fifteen; when I revealed the fact that I wasn't entirely human to my ex-girlfriend, Elsa. I told you before that the whole situation was pretty disastrous and that her memory had to be completely erased of _everything—_not only of the "big reveal", but Gohan and the others figured it would be safer if she had no recollection of me at all. The only way we could do this was by using the Dragon Balls, which are seven spheres that are capable of granting a person any two wishes that they desire and is within the capabilities of the Eternal Dragon to grant. The first wish was to completely wipe Elsa's memories of me, but we still had a second wish remaining.

"Gohan, Goten, and my Mom saw how devastated I was—and Hotaru, I was an absolute _wreck_—so they discussed the idea of erasing my memories of Elsa altogether as well. When I learned that there was a possibility that I could forget that the entire thing had even happened, that the pain and anguish I felt would simply disappear, I begged them to let Shenlong take my memories from me. Dad, however, refused to let them make that wish."

Hotaru recalled this part of the story. "Your father didn't want you to forget because he wanted you to learn a lesson, right?"

"Yeah, and I hated him for it for a good while afterward," Trunks acknowledged. "I thought Dad was just trying to torture me and wanted to toughen me up so that I could be as cold and heartless as he was. Our training sessions were brutal, with me fighting him with the intent to do some serious damage to him, and we hardly said two words to each other in months. I didn't give Dad the time of day until I overheard him arguing with Mom one night about the whole ordeal."

"What did you hear?"

"I remember it so clearly… _'So, let's say we have him forget the whole thing with that girl, and then what? He makes the same mistake a few months or years from now, when he actually finds someone that he wants to settle down with? He needs to understand __**now **__that some humans just can't handle the reality that there is more to this universe than just them, and that some people simply can't be trusted with the truth of our existence. Isn't that why we remain inconspicuous now?'_

"I realized it then that Dad was protecting me in his own way, and in a way that I would be better off in the end," Trunks continued. "While unlike you in the way that I knew the truth and would have happily opted to forget about it, our situations were similar in that there were people involved that wanted to protect us, even if it meant coddling us like children in the process. Mom, Goten, and Gohan wanted to hide me from the truth that humans could be more damaging and frightening than some of the evil that exists in the universe and beyond; Dad, on the other hand, wanted me to be aware of it. Now that I'm a little older, I'm actually kind of grateful that he did that for me. It's hard growing up, not knowing who you can trust with the knowledge of who you really are…"

Hotaru could draw the parallels between Trunks's story and the situation that she was currently in, but there were also some stark differences as well. As Trunks stated, he was more than aware of the truth in that situation from right off the bat and nearly had the option of forgetting about it ever happening. However, Hotaru was not privy to whatever truth that Haruka and others discovered the night before, and knowing how stubborn the Soldier of the Sky could be, it was likely that the truth could be kept from her for some time before anyone would enlighten her of it. Trunks's story was one of romantic heartbreak and a hard lesson learned, not a story of a family keeping secrets from their adopted daughter who deserved to know the extent of what involvement she had in a situation that would determine the fate of her world.

"I'm sorry Elsa hurt you so badly," Hotaru whispered to Trunks. From the day that the two of them met, it was still obvious that Trunks continued to carry the scars of what happened between him and his ex-girlfriend. It was more than likely he carried them still now, but it was much less obvious than before, when the chip on Trunks's shoulder was more than apparent. "I don't think I could do to someone what she did to you. No one deserves that."

A smirk spread across Trunks's lips. "Well, I don't know about _that_. I was kind of a snobby brat back then, so I kind of needed to be jerked off my high horse."

Hotaru arched an eyebrow, a slight hint of an amused smile appearing on her face. "Back then? You're _still_ a snobby brat."

"Now _there's _the Hotaru that I know and love."

Trunks's tone had been unmistakably jesting, and while Hotaru's mind was certainly aware of that, her heart did not fail to skip several beats at the mention of the last word he had spoken. Love—romantic love—had been the farthest thing from her mind up until this point, but now at the mere and innocent mention of what should have nothing more than _just a word_ had a sudden and profound effect on her. Suddenly, Hotaru was all too aware of their location, their seating, and the way that Trunks was so intimately holding on her.

Burning images of the kiss from the night before flashed through Hotaru's mind quicker than a second, but they lingered in her memory long enough to cause her stomach to twist inside of her and her breathing to become uneven. For a moment, the despair that she felt from earlier gave way to stronger emotions and feelings which had an entirely opposite effect on her. Hotaru felt flustered, knowing well enough that this was not the time to be having such inappropriate thoughts and feelings when there was plenty else going on. Yet, she could not help herself from thinking of what had occurred between them last night, and how she longed to experience again.

It was then that Hotaru realized that she was falling for Trunks, and she was falling for him harder and faster than even she could have anticipated.

"Tired," Hotaru suddenly mumbled, hoping that her face wasn't becoming as red as it felt hot, "I'm tired."

Trunks then removed his arm from around her, making Hotaru wonder if perhaps he read into her body language enough to realize the turmoil that was occurring within her. Much to her dismay, Hotaru already felt herself missing the presence of his warm arm around her.

"Right," Trunks agreed, scooting away from Hotaru and hopping off of the bed. "You want to crash here for a while, at least until you figure out what you're going to do?"

Oh, staying _here _was the king of all bad ideas. Even if Hotaru's true intention was to rest and not attempt to get some physical space between her and the object of her deepening infatuation, there was no possible way she could settle her emotions enough to relax in _here_. Rightfully so, Trunks's bedroom was filled with the presence of the lavender haired boy; posters decorating the walls in homage to his favorite bands, expensive electronics which included a big screen television mounted on a wall and a rather impressive computer set up housed on a desk on the other side of the room, and the mess of clothes strewn about in various places around his bedroom. Worst of all, however, was how Trunks's uniquely intoxicating scent permeated throughout the room which seemed to affect Hotaru even more now that she realized that her feelings for Trunks were beginning to spiral out of control.

"Don't you think a guestroom would be better?" Hotaru inquired, trying not to seem too desperate or hopeful that there were other alternatives than Trunks's bed.

"The guestrooms are on a whole different wing of the mansion, and this place is big enough for a person here their first time to get lost in," Trunks reasoned. "My bed is fine, and I have some things to take care of, so just stay here until I get back."

"Are you going back to school?"

"No," Trunks told her as he headed towards his bedroom door, "there's something else I need to do. Just relax and try to get some sleep. If you need anything just call my cell and I'll be back as quickly as possible."

"Okay," Hotaru whispered, watching as Trunks gave her a silent wave before he exited his bedroom, pulling the door shut behind him softly. Her gaze continued to linger on the closed door before she released a small sigh, lowering her body down to lie on the bed, turning so that she was on her side with her cheek pressed against his pillow. She had to admit that she _was _mentally exhausted with everything that had happened today, and wondering what the next course of action was to be was a road that she wasn't quite ready to travel down next.

Closing her violet eyes, Hotaru nuzzled her head up against Trunks's pillow, finding that she was strangely comforted that his scent was the strongest there.

X

"_You've reached Hotaru. Sorry, I'm not available right now, but if you leave a message I'll get back to you as soon as I can-"_

Sighing, Michiru ended the call and tossed her cellphone on the coffee table with frustration before promptly sitting down next to Haruka on the sofa. There was nothing more the Soldier of the Sea wanted than to just _talk _with her adopted daughter so that she could explain to her in a calm and civil manner why it was so imperative for Hotaru to go home. It wasn't as if the Outer Soldiers _wanted _to send her away, but this was the only means to protect the younger girl from the hurt and heartbreak that she would undoubtedly experience should she stay.

"She'll come around," Haruka assured Michiru, wrapping an arm around the flustered woman. "Just give her time."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Michiru said in a melancholy voice. "Hotaru can be awfully stubborn at times. I mean, she _had _been seeing that boy the entire time even though we told her not to."

Setsuna snorted softly in slight amusement. "I think you two forget that, while Hotaru is the Soldier of Destruction, she _is _still a teenager. Rebelling against authority isn't exactly unheard of for people her age."

"So, what do _you _think we should do, Setsuna?" Haruka inquired, glancing over to the Soldier of Time.

"Leave her be for now," Setsuna suggested. "If we keep pushing it she'll only pull away from us more, and I think we all can agree that we don't want that. When she does cool off, we need to be honest with her. Let's give her the facts so she can make the choice, and if she doesn't think we can handle it, we'll take her home."

"She's too headstrong to ever admit that she can't handle something," Michiru stated. "We all know that, even with the facts, she's not going to go anywhere."

"Then, it would be her choice and not ours," Setsuna said, shrugging her shoulders ever so slightly. "I want to protect Hotaru as much as the two of you, but we need to come to terms with the fact that she is no longer a child. We can't hide her away from the world because of what we think; we need to let her fall down and get hurt every once in a while. That's the only way we learn to stand back up and keep moving forward."

"What do we do for now, though?" Michiru questioned, wearing an uncertain look on her face. "Do we just forget about the fact that things between us and Hotaru are messy, and continue on with the mission? We have a few good clues now, but I don't feel comfortable just leaving Hotaru alone when it's more than likely that everything going on right now directly involves her."

A small sigh escaped Setsuna's lips. "We _are _here to complete a mission, and we need to allow Hotaru some time to get her thoughts together before we can hope to have a rational conversation with her. Besides, I highly doubt that she's alone right now."

The unmistakable look of fury appeared on Haruka's face, causing the blonde haired woman to shoot up from the sofa she was sitting on with narrowed eyes. "Are you implying that she's with _that boy_?!"

"Let it be, Haruka," Setsuna cautioned, delivering a glare to the Soldier of the Sky. "I can't say that I'm happy with Hotaru's choice in defying our wishes in the first place, but that's pretty much water under the bridge at this point. What's done is done, and I really don't think those two being friends is going to cause the whole Time-Space Continuum to shatter beyond repair."

"Friends?" Haruka spat the word like venom, folding her arms over her chest as she continued to wear a displeased look on her features. "Did you two not hear the way that Hotaru was speaking about that boy this morning? She obviously holds him in very high regard, and furthermore, that boy snuck into our house in the _middle of the night._"

"Are you implying that they're more than friends?" Michiru asked, her blue eyes widening in surprise at Haruka's accusation. "Do you think Hotaru would allow such a thing to happen, given our current situation?"

"I don't think Hotaru is letting _anything _happen. I think that brat has gotten his hooks into her and, with Hotaru having not exactly been thinking clearly lately, she's become caught up in the fact that some popular boy at school is giving her attention; a popular boy whose strength surpasses ordinary humans, no less."

Michiru gave Haruka a wary stare. "It certainly doesn't sound like Hotaru to get swept off her feet by just about anyone, but then again, she's never met anyone like this boy before. Still, I don't agree with your assessment that this is entirely one-sided. If there is anything romantic between the two of them, I think Hotaru is willingly going along with it. It's not like her to do things she seriously doesn't want to do, after all."

It was the chimes of the doorbell that ended the conversation there, with the perturbed Soldier of the Sky simply giving an angry snort before storming towards the foyer to answer the front door. Haruka wasn't sure what bothered her more; the possibility that there was something going on between Hotaru and _that boy _or that no one in the house seemed as concerned about the whole thing as she did. Considering that they were aliens to this universe and their time here was limited, the relationship was doomed to fail which would likely cause their adopted daughter a world of pain. Furthermore, teenage boys simply could not be trusted; they felt more with their hormones than with their hearts, after all.

They needed to get Hotaru back as soon as possible and before this _thing _she had with that boy developed into anything serious.

When Haruka reached the front door, she reached forward and grabbed on to the knob, giving it a hard twist before yanking the door open with every bit of frustration she felt. "_What _do you want-?"

There was no doubt in Haruka's mind the boy who now stood just a couple of feet in front of her was _him_. The clothes he wore certainly resembled that of the boy's uniform from West City Academy, aside from the fact that the black blazer was missing. He stood there with his hands shoved into the pockets of his black pants, carrying an air of confidence which angered Haruka all the more as the blonde haired woman believed that this boy should be absolutely _terrified _of the things that she could do to him. He was the source of her worsening mood, and the Soldier of the Sky would love nothing more than to take her current frustrations out on this smug little punk that had the nerve to show up at her front door.

Her fist suddenly flew out at him, aimed for the area right between his furrowed brows. Trunks caught her fist easily, withdrawing a hand quickly from his pocket and grasping on to her fist long before it got close to touching his skin.

"I'm Trunks Briefs," he introduced himself, his blue eyes narrowing, "and I'm assuming you're Haruka?"

Haruka did not respond with words. Her green eyes narrowed into a glare that hoped to strike the lavender-haired boy dead on the spot while her fist simply pressed harder against the palm of Trunks's hand.

"I'm hoping to have a _civil _conversation with you regarding Hotaru," Trunks informed the blonde woman. "I didn't come here looking for a fight."

"Well, that's just _too damned bad_!" Haruka growled through gritted teeth, withdrawing her fist just long enough for an orb of golden energy to form around it. A moment later, she threw her fist at Trunks again at a speed much more quickly than she had before, causing the lavender haired boy to fly several feet backwards to dodge a hit that would have likely knocked him off balance.

"Do you really want to do this, Haruka?!" Trunks shouted at the blonde woman, the power around him rising along with his anger, causing his short lavender strands to sway as if they were blown by the wind. "Out in broad daylight with neighbors who could see us?"

An arrogant smirk appeared on Haruka's face as she walked out of her house and descended the front steps, her gaze never leaving the boy in front of her. Perhaps the powers that be were truly smiling down upon her, and delivering a beating down upon one of the reasons for her terrible disposition was just what the doctor ordered. "Daylight, witnesses? I really don't give a damn. I'm in a really _bad _mood and would love to take it out on you, you little _punk-_"

"Haruka, _stop!_" Michiru demanded suddenly, quickly exiting the house and reaching forward, grabbing on to the blonde woman's upper arm firmly and giving it a firm tug. "If you beat him up, Hotaru will be even more upset with us. Is that what you want?"

"_If _you beat me up," Trunks mocked, "that is one big if."

"This kid needs the crap beat out of him _right now_," Haruka hissed, attempting to yank her arm free of Michiru's hold. "Let me _go_."

Michiru kept her grasp on Haruka firm, turning her attention to Trunks instead. "Hotaru—she's at your home, right? Is she doing okay?"

The air of energy that had begun to collect around Trunks dissipated then, with his hair falling flat upon his head and focusing his gaze on Michiru. It seemed that there was at least one member of the household that was willing to have this conversation with a cool head. "She's doing better, but I wouldn't say that she's doing _okay_. Do you mind if we have this conversation inside, though?"

"You're not taking one step into my house," Haruka informed Trunks matter-of-factly.

"Shut _up, _Haruka," Michiru sighed with a roll of her eyes. "Please come inside, Trunks. I think we have a lot to talk about."

X

There was a lot that needed to be discussed between Trunks and Hotaru's family, but there were certain things that Trunks committed himself to keeping between him and Hotaru in order to not betray the confidence that she had instilled within him. Gaining Hotaru's trust had been a hard won battle that had taken time, occasionally involving taking only a few steps forward and several more in the opposite direction. Still, Trunks did not doubt that the violet-eyed girl would be angry with him for deciding so suddenly to speak with her family about matters which directly involved her, but that was a risk that he was willing to take in order to bridge the gap that seemed to form between the girl he had come to adore and the family that she unquestionably loved.

Trunks had expected Hotaru's family to be intimidating, but he was not nearly prepared for the blonde fury that was Haruka Tenou. It was obvious to Trunks that Haruka had already developed an opinion of him, and it was one that was far less than favorable. Even as Trunks sat in a chair within the Outer Soldiers' living room, Haruka continued to openly shoot him looks that promised a painful death at her determining and did not hesitate to make snide comments whenever the opportunity presented itself. Although Trunks wasn't entirely certain as to why Haruka had decided to hate him so much so quickly, he had a feeling it had less to do with _him _and more to do with his relationship with Hotaru.

Michiru was the most vocal out of the three and was the most active participant in the conversation Trunks was having with them. Unlike Haruka, Michiru seemed more willing to give Trunks a chance and was more than courteous to him. She was respectful, occasionally jested with Trunks as they exchanged words to make the atmosphere seem a little less toxic, and did not once attempt to mask the care and concern she felt for her adopted daughter. Michiru was charming and fresh, and Trunks could see that it was from her that Hotaru learned some of her most redeeming qualities.

Out of the three women, it was Setsuna who was the most difficult to read. She seemed interested in what Trunks had to say, yet indifferent to him as a person. In the beginning, Setsuna largely remained silent and listened to Trunks's every word with great interest. Now that he had divulged most of the information that he had ascertained from Capsule Corporation the day before, Setsuna seemed more inclined to offer her own opinions on the matter, especially when it came to the person who claimed their name as Keiko Tomoe.

"It's just not possible," Setsuna stated, a slight irritation in her voice as she shook her head at the very notion that Keiko Tomoe could still be alive. "Hotaru's mother died in a laboratory explosion ten years ago. There is no possible way that she could have survived it."

"Hotaru survived it," Trunks reminded Setsuna matter-of-factly.

"Barely," Haruka scoffed, folding her arms over her chest. "Besides, it's possible that even at that age Hotaru's latent powers protected her from death while Keiko was just an ordinary human."

"So, then what is this?" Michiru questioned, raising an eyebrow as she looked over to Setsuna in hopes that perhaps she would have a plausible explanation for what was going on. "What are the chances of a woman existing on this planet with the same name as Hotaru's mother _and _has several different files with personal information on Hotaru?"

"They look the same, too," Trunks added. "The company photograph of Keiko Tomoe was a dead ringer for the photographs of Hotaru's mother in those files. It _has _to be more than coincidence."

With her maroon-colored gaze casting downwards, the Soldier of Time became silent in the world of her own thoughts. It was obvious that everything discovered so far seemed to have one thing in common and that was Hotaru; but _why_? Why was there someone who had the exact same name and face as Hotaru's dead mother on a world that no normal human could get to, that existed past the boundaries of their own time and space? Furthermore, why was it that they found something in their search last night that very well should not exist in this universe?

There was one thing that Setsuna could determine without a shadow of a doubt, and she lifted her gaze to stare into the awaiting eyes of the three other occupants within the room. "We were lured here. Whoever is orchestrating this whole thing, they wanted us to come here."

"But _why_?" Haruka pressed, seeming angry at the idea that the Outer Soldiers had been conned into coming to this world in the first place. "Aside from the woman claiming to be Hotaru's mother, we have no ties here."

"There's the Daimon eggs, too," Setsuna offered suddenly.

"_Setsuna!_" Haruka shouted in exasperation, slamming her open palm down on the arm of the sofa she was sitting on. "We agreed to keep that a _secret_."

"Daimon eggs?" Trunks blinked his blue eyes in curiosity before looking to Setsuna in question. "What in the hell is that?"

It was Michiru who offered up the answer. "Left on their own, the Daimon eggs are harmless. If they're injected into a host—whether that be an inanimate object or a living being—they can become a problem. It will turn humans into puppets and, if the eggs are allowed to fester within their hosts very long, it can even turn them into monsters."

"There was a room in the building we investigated last night that pertained to the research of Daimon eggs," Setsuna continued, a troubled look appearing on her face. "While we didn't find any eggs, we found a wealth of information that there are at least some on this planet. Where they're at, I'm not certain. It could pose to be a problem if there are people infected with the Daimon eggs, however."

"Hotaru was at one time infected with a Daimon egg, but it was one of the few things that kept her alive after the accident," Michiru sighed. "That's the second tie that we have here it seems."

"Which further leads me to believe that we were lured here, and these little tidbits of 'information' we've been finding are just too convenient," Setsuna stated. "Trunks, you only gave those files a second look because of the damage done to your family's business at a time that you and Hotaru had become friends. Naturally, anything that had her name on it would pique your interest."

"That's true…" Trunks murmured, a grim feeling sinking into his stomach. He didn't much like the idea that he was being toyed with, whether it was directly or indirectly. "And you guys just happened to _fortunate _enough to stumble upon that information on Daimon eggs as well. It _is _too convenient."

"They're bold," Haruka suddenly commented in a distant voice, her emerald eyes narrowing in anger. "They're _real _bold."

Michiru glanced over to the blonde woman, her eyebrows raised in curiosity. "What is it, Haruka?"

"It's not _us _they lured here. It's Hotaru they want, and they're not bothering to hide it."

**A/N: **Finals are wrapping up next week, so hopefully I'll have a little time before the next semester comes up to write more. I appreciate reviews if you can leave them!

~kusari~


	9. Truth

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z are not mine. They belong to their respective owners.

**A/N: **Sorry again for the delay T_T I've been so terrible lately!

**Ripple Effect  
>Chapter IX: Truth<strong>

It had taken some time for Hotaru to settle enough to fall into slumber. The events of the day had caused her nerves to become frayed and her heart to thunder anxiously within her chest, but eventually exhaustion overtook her, plunging her into the darkness of her subconscious. Although Hotaru had fully expected to be greeted with the usual imagery of death and destruction that haunted her dreams most frequently as of late, it was this time that her expectations would not be met. As the blackened void that had initially welcomed her into her dream-state began to recede, a different kind of scene revealed itself to her.

Hotaru found herself standing inside of a building with walls constructed by stone masonry that was more common back in the middle ages than in modern times, and the presence of fire-lit torches throughout the circular-shaped room gave more credence to her suspicion that this room belonged more to the past than the present. The room was large enough to fit several hundred people comfortably with room yet to spare, and the ceiling above Hotaru towered far above her. There were no windows at all, with the torches providing the only luminance within the room.

Hotaru's gaze was eventually drawn towards the center of the room, resting upon a large gathering of cloak-wearing men that stood in a circular formation. The air was filled with their harmonious chanting that was in a language that Hotaru did not recognize but, for a reason beyond her understanding, she felt a sense of foreboding that made her want to cover her hands over her ears and run in the other direction.

"The preparations are nearly complete."

The voice was deep and unmistakably masculine, and the words were spoken sudden enough that caused Hotaru to start, clutching her hands to her chest to keep her thundering heart from breaking through her skin and turning her body towards the source. Hotaru's gaze immediately found a man who towered above every other person in the room who was completely adorned in golden armor from his helm down to his boots. The gear was polished and in excellent condition, though Hotaru had a feeling that the armor this man wore was not simply for ceremonial decoration. No, this man—Hotaru was certain—could hold his own in a fight if the occasion arose.

"You must be _ecstatic_."

There was no reason for Hotaru to seek out the owner of the second voice, although her eyes searched for it anyway. The tone of the voice sounded off to her, yet she knew that only to be so because the words had not been spoken from her own lips. Soon enough, Hotaru's gaze settled upon a woman who was unquestionably herself, seemingly small in comparison to the golden-adorned man that stood at her other-self's side. This was not an incarnation of herself that Hotaru immediately recognized, causing her to feel a deep confusion as to _when _and _where _this particular event had taken place.

It was not unfathomable to Hotaru that this could have been an event of the past that had been lost in the passage of time. Memories simply were not meant to stand the test of time, and this fact was truer when it came to someone like Hotaru who would be reincarnated after each death. The longer the existence, the higher the chance that memory fragmentation would occur and Hotaru knew that her existence was quite old.

This incarnation of Hotaru was someone that felt like a total stranger to her. Although the face the woman wore was most definitely hers and her height very much mirrored her own, the way this Hotaru spoke was in a tone as if all that listened were beneath her. She sounded emotionally detached, standing in a way that was most rigid and her eyes couldn't have had a colder look about them if they were made of ice. She was wearing a black gown that was adorned with jewels, the skirt of the dress billowing out around her legs with the bottom hem resting upon the stone floor beneath her. She wore black gloves made of lace that covered her arms up past her elbows, and a black choker was wrapped around her neck that had a large ruby jewel dangling from it, resting on her skin just below her neck.

"Ecstatic isn't the word that I would use in this situation," the golden-armored man informed her as he stared at the chanting men before them. "Relief is quite possibly the most adequate way to explain how I feel at this very moment."

"Well, you _are _getting just about everything you want out of this," the other-Hotaru remarked in a voice that revealed the annoyance she felt. She crossed her arms over her chest before glancing to the golden-armored man. "How long will it be before I get what _I _want, Warden?"

The Warden shrugged his shoulders. "A definite timetable is something I'm not capable of giving you as these things are determined by a power much greater than myself. However, I _could_ give you an approximation, but it would only be that."

"So _approximate_," the other-Hotaru pressed impatiently. "It's not like _I _have the luxury of time here."

"It could be ten years, or it could be a hundred," the Warden surmised. "I doubt it would be in one or two. Yet, by my word as a Warden, I assure you that your desires will be realized in your very next incarnation."

The other-Hotaru rolled her eyes at the Warden's assurances. "Your _word _means absolutely nothing to me. I know to what extent you people will go to in order to uphold the so-called 'law and order' of this Universe. Had I not agreed to willingly sacrifice my life for the sake of your _law and order_, you would have simply taken it by force."

"I will not deny that to be the truth," the Warden informed her. "However, that being said, you should feel most fortunate that you are receiving anything at all in compensation for your sacrifice today. The _ultimate power _that you desire is not something given out without great deliberations."

This was not just _any _fragment of the past that Hotaru was witnessing, she suddenly realized. This was her original form, the form from which each of her incarnations since had been born from. Her rebirth cycle had likely begun sometime after this event, thanks the deal that was bartered between her past self and this Warden. It was no wonder this woman seemed so different from who Hotaru presently was; this woman was thirsty for a power that she did not yet have and had used whatever means she had at her disposal to convince others to give it to her. This woman wanted a terrifying power for a reason that Hotaru was not sure of, and it was that same terrifying power that made Hotaru feel that she was nothing more than a blight that should not exist.

Towards this woman, who had her every likeness and could easily be referred to as the mother of her soul, Hotaru felt only hatred. This original incarnation had damned her to an eternity of death and destruction, a cycle that repeated itself over and over again.

"What will you use that power for, I wonder?" the Warden pondered softly, loud enough for the other-Hotaru to hear but seeming unconcerned in receiving a truthful response from it. "History has the most terrible reputation of repeating itself, and it has been shown that those who receive great power would eventually abuse it."

The other-Hotaru remained silent, her eyes locked before her.

The Warden sighed, reaching behind him towards the scabbard that rested upon his back and grabbing on to the hilt of his sword. "I will warn you now, Princess. Should you abuse the power that you will one day be blessed with, you will end up in the same cage that _he _is about to be sealed into for eternity. You will live the rest of your meaningless existence swimming in a darkness that never ends, with only your thoughts and feelings to torment you until time no longer goes forward and space begins to collapse upon itself.

"If it is terror and chaos that you hope to spread, know that the memories of mortals are fickle at best and deteriorate with the passage of time," the Warden continued, slowly drawing his blade out of its sheath. "What history that shall eventually be written of you will soon fall into legend, and legend will descend to nothing more than a myth. Soon after, many will deny that you had ever existed at all."

The other-Hotaru blew out an air of irritation past her lips. "I don't care to be remembered; I only care for vengeance. The sooner you take my life from me, the sooner I can make those who have caused my suffering to experience every bit of pain and agony they have caused me."

It was obvious to the Warden that there was simply no reasoning with the other-Hotaru, so he merely released a defeated sigh in response. He moved then to stand before her, his armor clanking soundly with his every step. His gloved hand reached toward her, grasping firmly onto her small shoulder as he stared down at the much shorter girl.

"_O God of Gods, hear our decree!" _the Warden's voice loudly announced, raising his blade and aiming the tip of it directly at the other-Hotaru's heart. _"It has been determined that your most sacred law has been broken, and it is by the power of the Wardens that the felon responsible must receive judgment! By the willing sacrifice of the felon's descendant, we pray that her blood shall bind him until eternity's end!"_

The cloaked men ceased their chanting almost immediately at the Warden's words, turning to where the Warden and the other-Hotaru stood before shouting in unison, "_By blood be bound!"_

"By blood be _bound_," the Warden repeated, before plunging his blade deep into the other-Hotaru's chest.

X

Gasping loudly, Hotaru's violet eyes flew wide open and she abruptly sat up in Trunks's bed. One her hands flew to her chest immediately, resting over the area just above her heart—the area that she had just witnessed the Warden's sword plunge into. Her every breath came in shallow, quick pants and she found her hand trembling ever so slightly as it rested above her heart. It took her several moments to gather herself together, to recognize that she was no longer within the confines of her dream and had been returned to the conscious world. There were no more cloaked men speaking in a foreign chant, and the golden-armored Warden was nothing more than a memory of the past.

But, what _was _that? Hotaru sincerely believed what she had just dreamed to be the death of her very first incarnation, but what exactly had been going on there? _'By blood be bound'?_ For what reason did she need to be sacrificed? And what significance, if it held any significance at all, did it have to what had been going on in the present?

Hotaru felt more confused than ever.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

Hotaru blinked her violet eyes in surprise that she was not exactly alone in Trunks's room, her gaze traveling over to the side of the bed to find the source of the innocently questioning voice. Beside the bed stood a little girl that could be no older than six years of age, her wide blue eyes intently staring at Hotaru as she waited to receive an answer. The little girl wore a dress that was colorful and unquestionably adorable on her, and her turquoise-colored hair was tied into a short ponytail at the top of her head.

A small smile inevitably pulled at the corners of Hotaru's lips as she recognized who the little girl was, knowing her more by reputation from what Trunks had spoken of her as she had never before met the little girl before today. "Don't worry, it's just a dream. You must be Bra, right?"

Bra's big blue eyes widened even more. "My big brother told you about me?" she asked in an astonished voice, beaming with excitement that Hotaru knew who she was.

"Of course he did; you are important to him, after all," Hotaru informed Bra, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and propping her hands up on the edge and leaning towards the little girl so she could better meet her gaze. "He didn't tell me you were so pretty, though."

Bra giggled in her giddiness at Hotaru's compliment. Hotaru's experience with younger children like Bra had been limited over the past few years, but it didn't take a genius to figure out how best to deal with children who had been born with every privilege that the world had to offer. The subject of Bra had come up quite often during the conversations Trunks had with Hotaru, but for the most part a lot of those conversations had more to do with the older brother venting about his annoying little sister and how his parents treated her like a precious little princess.

"Your name is Taru?" Bra asked. "Are you my brother's girlfriend?"

"Hotaru," she corrected the little girl. Hotaru felt suddenly anxious due to the inquiry of the state of her relationship with Trunks as there really hadn't been a discussion yet between the two of them to determine what label could be placed on their deepening relationship. However, Hotaru did not doubt that if the two of them were to continue down this path, being his girlfriend was a great possibility. In any case, Hotaru opted to ignore the second half of Bra's questioning. "Is your brother home?"

"He's in the gravity room with his father," a new voice answered suddenly as a taller, older woman entered Trunks's bedroom with her hands gripping on to a basket filled with freshly dried laundry. She had turquoise-colored hair like Bra that was cut short, the ends of her strands curling around to frame her face. "I hope my nosy daughter didn't wake you."

Hotaru felt her face getting hot, abruptly standing from Trunks's bed and straightening out her school uniform. She can't imagine how this woman—who was without a doubt Trunks's mother—could have interpreted her presence in her son's bedroom. Although Bulma Briefs did not show any outward signs of displeasure at Hotaru's presence in her eldest son's bedroom, Hotaru hoped she hadn't left a negative first impression on the older woman.

Nervously, Hotaru tucked a strand of ebony hair behind her ear and stepped towards Bulma. "She didn't wake me. Do you need help…?"

"Don't you _dare_," Bulma told the violet-eyed girl in a firm voice as she set the basket down on the floor next to Trunks's closet. "You are a guest in my home and I'll be damned if I have you put away my lazy son's laundry. It's bad enough his clothes don't find the hamper most of the time."

"I can believe it," Hotaru agreed with a small laugh bubbling out of her throat, feeling some of the anxiousness she felt dissipating. "Anyway, you said Trunks was in the gravity room? Is he sparring with his father?"

Trunks had explained only a few times what the gravity room was and what it was used for. The gravity room simulated gravity levels that were much greater than what was experienced on Earth, which made the room most preferable when it came to training. The elevated gravity levels increased a fighter's overall strength and mobility, and those who chose to spar in such an environment found that their overall powers became amplified as well. As Hotaru was not physically strong, she doubted that she could ever endure the environment within the gravity room.

"Yup, you want to watch?"

The look of surprise was obvious on Hotaru's face, her violet eyes widening. "Would that be okay?"

"I don't mind," Bulma assured her, "but I won't lie to you that it's hard to watch at first. Watching my husband and my son beating each other until they're nearly broken isn't my idea of a good time, but it is interesting to watch. It gives an appreciation of what their genes make them capable of, which is kind of cool and a little bit frightening."

Hotaru felt slightly hesitant, but the curiosity of watching Trunks train and the desire to see the lavender-haired boy again was certainly getting the better of her. "Show me the way, please."

X

Training with his father had always been something that Trunks had done begrudgingly, likening the act more as a chore that was as enjoyable as washing the dishes or cleaning his room. Regardless of how many times he sparred with his father, Vegeta would always have the upper hand due to his years of experience and his forever calculating mind that was wired for battle. Vegeta was able to separate the fact that Trunks was his son, making the older Saiyan capable of going at his son with full force. Trunks, on the other hand, had constantly failed at separating his emotions when it came to sparring with his father, leaving him on the losing end every single time. More often than not, Trunks would find himself pulling his punches when he found an opening on his father.

That is not to say that Trunks completely disliked the act of sparring altogether. Perhaps it was in this way that he was a slave to the DNA that he received from his father which he found a sick enjoyment out of fighting in general. Although he had no desire to truly harm his father, Trunks could not help the pleasure he received while immersed in combat, the blood rushing through his veins and giving him a high that could not be compared with anything else. Being just fast enough to dodge an assault made Trunks feel thrilled, and inflicting injury upon his father made his Saiyan side swell with pride.

Still, Trunks's human side refused to be forgotten, never failing to make the lavender haired boy feel a slight sting of guilt for having enjoyed acting like a heartless beast. There was no denying that the two sides of him—human and Saiyan—conflicted quite often, especially in moments where he was attempting to indulge more in one side than the other. It was more than difficult to find a happy medium that satisfied the two, and more frequently than not, Trunks just became angered at his own frustrations.

Yet, this time, his human side remained silent as Trunks threw punch after punch at his father as a bright fire of determination burned within him like never before. He _had _to get stronger, and this was one of the few means of obtaining that goal. If Haruka's deductions were true and Hotaru had been lured to his world, he wanted to be more than strong enough to protect Hotaru from any enemies that would surface to cause harm to her.

Hotaru was _his_, and Trunks was not going to let anyone take her from him. He wanted to prove to Hotaru, prove to Haruka and the others, and prove to _himself _that he was more than capable of taking care of the violet eyed girl.

"Pay attention," Vegeta suddenly commanded his son, his ebony eyes narrowed in a glare towards his eldest child. "If you let your attention drift in a real battle, you will be dead in an instant."

Trunks merely snorted in response, launching himself at his father for another attack. He threw his fist at his father without restraint, but found his punch easily caught within the larger hand of his father. Irritated, Trunks yanked his hand free from his father's grasp and spun his body around, tossing a forceful kick towards the direction of his father's head. Yet, just like the punch, Vegeta merely raised his arm and blocked the kick with his forearm with ease, casting a bored look towards his son.

"I _know_ I've taught you better than this," Vegeta sighed. "You need to forget everything else _but this fight_. Nothing else matters; not this planet or the people on it, not your family, not even that girl you seemed to have become so enamored with. If you focus too much on such liabilities, it _will _be used against you."

"_Shut up!_" Trunks growled at his father, leaping back and gliding through the air. His feet landed on the floor on the other side of the room, his blue eyes narrowed in fury at his father. The only reason why he willingly set foot in the gravity room today was for Hotaru, and he wasn't about to forget about it. Trunks believed that the desire to protect someone would empower him, not hinder him, and he sincerely believed his father to be wrong in this respect.

Trunks dashed through the gravity room towards his father, ignoring the burn that seared through his calves as the weight of the intense gravity let itself become more known as time transpired within the room. He concentrated on gathering his energy into his right hand, using his ki to form a large round ball that he believed would be enough to incur some damage on to Vegeta whether he successfully blocked it or not. He wanted to show his father how powerful he could be when it came to desiring to protect someone that he had come to care greatly for, and that it would be enough to surpass him after many years of trying.

Yet, Trunks's attention became unfocused as he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. He glanced to the only window in the room, made with strong and thick glass in order to withstand the environment within the gravity room, and saw that an audience had gathered just outside of the room. His mother stood there with a worried look on her face, holding his little sister in her arms as they watched the match. Beside his mother was Hotaru, the object of his every thought and desire. She tried not to look worried in the same way she tried not to trouble anyone with her problems, but her violet eyes revealed to what extent she feared for him.

Trunks faltered, and Vegeta took clear advantage. Within an instant, the full-blooded Saiyan appeared behind his eldest child and wrapped his hands around the boy's upper arms with a vice-like grip. Using his weight and strength, Vegeta threw his son face-down on to the floor forcefully enough to cause the tile beneath Trunks's body to shatter, causing the ki that had gathered within his hand to completely dissipate. With his blue eyes shut as a new wave of pain hit him, Trunks mentally cursed himself for having gotten distracted at such a pivotal moment.

Silently, Vegeta straddled Trunks's mid-back and stared down at his son in annoyance before he stood, walking over to the center of the gravity room where the controls resided. After pressing his fingers against a few buttons on the panel, the gravity within the room was turned off, and the machine humming soundly before it fell quiet.

"Distraction means death on the battlefield, boy," Vegeta informed his son as he walked towards the exit of the gravity room. "Until you're able to shut off those human thoughts and emotions while you're in the midst of a fight, you'll never surpass me. We'll do this again later when the _distractions_ aren't so evident."

"Go to hell," Trunks muttered into the broken tile beneath him. He continued to linger on the floor until he heard the mechanical door slide open and listened to his father's footsteps take him out of the gravity room. Gradually, Trunks pushed himself up on to all fours and remained that way for a few moments, staring down at the floor that was shattered underneath him and the small pool of blood that was collected there. Inquisitively, Trunks reached up to his forehead and ran his hand along it, grimacing slightly as he felt the warm liquid of blood and the presence of a gaping wound on his forehead.

"Great," he sighed as he pushed himself up to his feet, sparing a glance over to the window where his mother, sister, and Hotaru lingered. His defeat was terribly embarrassing, especially in front of Hotaru. Appearing weak in front of anyone was awkward enough, but to lose a fight with his father in front of _her _made him feel reluctant to leave the gravity room. It was hard enough facing her through a thick pane of glass, and he knew it would be so much more to face his loss in front of her.

'_Be a man,' _Trunks told himself before he dragged himself towards the exit of the gravity room. He hesitated before the mechanical door before he reached forward to press a button located on the wall next to it, causing the door to slide open. He crossed the threshold and exited the gravity room, the door sliding soundly shut behind him. His eyes lingered on the floor in front of his feet for a few moments before he looked over to his family and Hotaru, a small and forced smile appearing on his lips.

"Sorry you had to see that," Trunks apologized. He honestly didn't know what else to say about what transpired within the gravity room. He didn't want to admit that Hotaru's presence had distracted him, but it _did_. Anytime she was around, his attention immediately went to her and everything else was but a distant memory. In this respect, he could not deny that his father was right; the distraction would be dangerous if he were in a real battle. However, Trunks doubted that his attentions would be so easily swayed if he was in the midst of a true fight.

He needed to get his shit together, or else he wouldn't be able to protect _anyone_, let alone Hotaru.

"You're hurt," Hotaru observed with a small frown, leaving Bulma's side to stand in front of Trunks. She leaned forward slightly to have a better look on the wound on his forehead. It was likely superficial, but like most head wounds, even the shallow ones bled like no other.

Trunks shrugged. "It doesn't even really hurt that bad to be honest," he admitted. No, it was the shame of how he got the wound that hurt a lot more than the slight stinging of pain the wound caused him.

"You're so stubborn," Hotaru sighed, reaching her hand up towards Trunks's wound. "Let me take care of it-"

Abruptly, Trunks's hand snapped out and grasped on to Hotaru's wrist, pulling it away from his face before that familiar faint violet light could even manifest. "Are you _crazy_?! What are you _doing? _Did you forget what happened to you the last time you healed a wound?"

Hotaru stared at Trunks, surprised at his sudden reaction to her wanting to heal his wound. Of course she hadn't forgotten what had happened when she had healed Mara's wound, but the situation then had been entirely different. "Cuts like this are no problem for me," she informed him. "Mara was bleeding out and was about to die. Fatal wounds take a lot more energy to heal than something like this, Trunks."

"I don't care," Trunks growled low before glancing over to his mother and sister. "Mom, can you give us a moment alone, please?"

A worried look remained on his mother's features, but after a moment she nodded her head silently before she carried Bra out of the room, allowing the two teenagers the privacy that her son requested.

"What's your problem?" Hotaru asked in an annoyed tone, her arms crossing over her chest as she narrowed her violet eyes at Trunks. "Why are you so against me healing you?"

"Because _I'm _not going to be a reason why you pass out cold on the floor," Trunks told her. "It was frightening enough the first time when I didn't know what the hell it was going on, and _now_—with you and I—I'm not going to let you do anything even remotely risky."

The features on Hotaru's face twisted from mere annoyance to borderline fury. "I'm not some porcelain doll that's going to break if you drop it. I _know _the extent of my powers, Trunks. Healing a wound like that isn't _risky_, and I would rather you be out of pain than worry about the consequences of using my powers."

"I _told _you it doesn't even really hurt," Trunks reminded her with a sigh, running his hand through his short lavender hair in frustration. "Can we drop this, or is it really so bad that all I want to do is protect you?"

As quickly as the anger appeared on Hotaru's face, it immediately faded at Trunks's words. "There's a difference between protecting me and being overbearing."

Trunks snorted in amusement. "You think I'm being overprotective?"

"Just a bit," Hotaru admitted, a small smile pulling at her lips.

Trunks smiled fully at the violet-eyed girl, the urge to reach out and touch her face becoming difficult to ignore. He could not possibly express to her how precious she was becoming to him, and the thought of her hurt at all was something that he did not want to comprehend. Still, there were things that he had to admit to her, and he wondered if she would become angry at him for it.

"I went to your house today," Trunks confessed suddenly, averting his gaze away from Hotaru. "I met and talked with your family."

Again, the emotions on Hotaru's face shifted, and this time it was to confusion. Her ebony eyebrows drew together and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she fought to understand what exactly Trunks had just told her. "…_What?_ Why on earth would you do _that_?"

"To figure things out and to get everyone on a common ground," Trunks informed her. "I don't think you and your family can afford to be at odds right now. There's so much going on here, and everything seems to lead back to _you_. We all agree that whatever is happening behind the scenes, it's _you _that they're after."

"Why is that?" Hotaru asked, obviously unwilling to accept the conclusion that the others had settled upon. "Is this because of those files that you found of me at Capsule Corporation, because if that's all you have to rest your case on, that's purely circumstantial-"

"Someone bearing the same name and face of your mother was employed at Capsule Corporation until very recently."

In an instant, the entire world—and even time itself—seemed to stop. Hotaru stood there, her eyes wide and her mouth agape as her mind attempted to process the information that she had just been told. Denial was the most prominent emotion Hotaru felt at first, unwilling to believe that what Trunks told her was anything close to the truth. Hotaru found her head shaking back and forth, unable to form the words to vocally reject what Trunks had told her. There was no possible way that her mother was _here_, on a world beyond the tendrils of time and space, and had been working at the company owned by Trunks's family.

Her mother was dead. Her body had been incinerated in the fire that had nearly cost Hotaru her own life and caused her father to spiral down into madness.

"It can't be, it just _can't _be," Hotaru whispered. "It has to be a coincidence."

"Coincidences don't happen for people like us, Hotaru," Trunks informed her in a melancholy voice, taking a few steps towards her. He reached his hands out to grab on to her upper arms gently, squeezing his hands ever so gently. "You know that better than I do."

Hotaru fell silent again, allowing her mind time to process everything. Her mother had been employed at Capsule Corporation, and there were files upon files that existed about her on those computers. A sickening feeling seized her then, her stomach twisting in every way possible to make her feel close to nausea, and her violet eyes glanced up through her bangs to stare up at Trunks.

"Is my mother—or the thing that looks like my mother—orchestrating all of this?" Hotaru hesitantly asked, although she was not certain that she wanted to receive an answer to her question.

"We don't know for certain," Trunks acknowledged. "We don't have enough information about that, but what we know is that whoever is behind what is going on with your world and mine has their sights on _you_. We don't know why, and we don't know what for, but all of us agree that you need to be protected at all costs."

_You have to die. This is what will happen to your world in the near future should the current course remained unchanged. Whether by your will or not, you are the catalyst which will bring about the ruin of this world, Sailor Saturn. As long as you are alive, this will certainly be the world's future. It will perish in violent cataclysm, and it will be absolute._

_Oh my god_, Hotaru thought as her trembling hand reached up to cover her open mouth, her eyes wide in realization. Her dreams had warned her that she would bring about the end, and she had not headed the warning given to her. She pressed on, just as the orchestrators had hoped she would, and now she had delivered herself into their hands far too easily.

"Hotaru?" the worry was thick in Trunks's voice, giving her upper arms another squeeze. "Are you all right?"

_It has been determined that your most sacred law has been broken, and it is by the power of the Wardens that the felon responsible must receive judgment! By the willing sacrifice of the felon's descendant, we pray that her blood shall bind him until eternity's end!_

The reason for her having been lured here had already been revealed to her. Hotaru was a catalyst, the primary ingredient to releasing a seal that the original incarnation had sacrificed her life to create in the distant past. It was a seal meant to never be unbroken as, under normal circumstances, Hotaru would have never come to this world unless _something _caused her to go there. Whether it was because of pride or due to becoming placated from years of peace, Hotaru was bringing about an end to her own future.

_You have to die. _

'_No,_' Hotaru thought, a wave of nausea overcoming her as she felt she could become physically ill at any moment. Death was not something she wished for, not in this lifetime and _certainly _not now. She had a family that loved her, regardless of the fact of how angry they had made her that morning. She had met a wonderful boy who she had come to greatly care for, and he reciprocated those feelings as well. Although it was possible that her blood could release a seal which likely held someone terrifyingly strong, there had to be some other way to stop it that did not require her death at the end.

"_Hotaru_," Trunks called out to her again. "Tell me what's going on."

"I…" Hotaru really didn't know _what _to tell Trunks. While her thoughts were frantic, she knew well enough that telling him that as long as she was breathing would cause Trunks to react in panicked anger. Trunks was worried about Hotaru using her powers of healing on a simple wound, and to tell him that she would likely have to die in order for some seal—which held someone or something yet to be identified—to remain unbroken would cause him to become even more overbearing than he already was. Of course Hotaru couldn't blame him; she would react in very much the same way if it were him in this situation.

Then, what was it that Hotaru could do? Time was no luxury of hers, and if it was her life that they sought to break a seal, they would eventually resort to any means necessary to obtain it. Still, Hotaru did not have a death wish; even though the selfless thing would be to take her own life for the sake of the future that was a road she was not yet willing to cross.

Finally, Hotaru looked up to Trunks, reaching her shaking hand up to set her hand over the lavender-haired boy's heart which thundered in his chest. The feeling of his heartbeat did well to anchor her emotions back into enough of a stable place that she could think lucidly again, although the next words she spoke were just as uneven as the hand that lingered on Trunks's chest.

"I know why they want me."

**A/N: **Please review, I will _try _to get the next chapter out sooner rather than later, but no guarantees T_T.

~kusari~


	10. Defensive Measures

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z are not mine. They belong to their respective owners.

**A/N: **Oh my gosh what is this, an update already without three months going by? I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, so I'm hoping to have updates every 2-3 weeks if not more frequent. Anyway, this story is probably a little bit more than half over with at this point. I have notes up to the end, and I have about three different kinds of endings I'm jumping around with and can't seem to decide which one I want T_T.

** Hotaru Tomoe Fan:** Yes, I have read Dimensional Disaster and I loved it. I think she discontinued the story, but that story is one of my favorites. ** Lydia**: I don't know about writing the type of story you requested at this time. Ripple Effect kind of has my plate full at the moment with being a full time student and working part time. It's been a struggle just with this, but feel free to PM me in the future if you're still interested and I will let you know one way or another!

**Edit**** 3-31-13: **Fixed a little mistake that a reviewer mentioned, was a minor name confusion which is now hopefully fixed XD. Should not rush these chapters apparently!

**Ripple Effect  
>Chapter X: Defensive Measures<strong>

When Hotaru informed Trunks of the reason that she believed she was being sought for, the reaction she received was not unexpected. Initially, Trunks treated Hotaru's theory with some skepticism—a trait was no doubt the result of being raised up in a scientific household—and he seemed to have a degree of difficulty wrapping his mind around it all. For this, Hotaru couldn't exactly blame him; when talking about suffering present consequences for something that occurred in a very distant past teetered on the edge of improbability and impossibility.

Trunks's skepticism was short-lived, and soon after he went into protective overdrive. He convinced a very reluctant Hotaru to return to her family and tell her everything that she had just told him, to forget what had occurred that morning and move on past the argument that had been had. Of course Hotaru tried to fight him on this at first—she just wasn't ready to face her family quite yet, and it was possible that learning this theory would reiterate her family's belief that she should return to their home world—but Trunks was adamant, telling her that if she didn't go with him at that moment then he would drag her along while _he _talked to them. Not long after that declaration, Hotaru yielded.

Haruka and the others were quick to accept Hotaru's theory, immediately putting into place protective measures to make certain that someone was with Hotaru at all times. To Hotaru's surprise, the Outer Soldiers believed that sending Hotaru back home no longer seemed like a feasible idea; the Outer Soldiers were essentially powerless back in their home universe, and if the enemy were to pursue Hotaru there, there would be nothing at all they could do but helplessly observe. On this Earth, in this universe, Hotaru not only had the Outer Soldiers to protect her but the Saiyans as well, and the help of the latter was almost immediately offered up with little resistance from the Outer Soldiers. Haruka and the others would protect Hotaru at home, while the Saiyans would protect her while she went to school.

There was no longer any place for pride and no longer any hope of upholding this universe's integrity. It was obvious now that there were things between the two universes that caused them to be bound together.

After almost a week of these measures being put into place, Hotaru was nearing the end of her patience of it. She had always been an intensely private person, so the requirement of someone being in her presence at nearly every second of the day was making her feel weary. Too often did she have to remind herself that her family and friends only meant well out of the desire to protect her, but these protection details seemed like a bit much to her.

Hotaru only wondered how everyone would react if she even suggested that ending her life would be a simpler solution. Her death wasn't exactly an alternative that she preferred, but as much as she felt like everyone was intruding on her personal life, she felt even guiltier about the fact that she was troubling everyone. Although she wasn't much interrupting the other Outer Soldiers, it was Trunks and the others' lives that she felt this whole protection thing was being awfully intrusive with.

"It's _such _a nice day!"

A small smile worked its way to Hotaru's lips at Mara's exclamation, turning her head to look at the curly-haired brunette that sat on the grass beside her. Gym was being held outdoors that day due to the mild temperatures and sunny skies, making Hotaru's least favorite class somewhat more tolerable with the change of scenery. The boys of the class—which included Trunks—were sent over to the baseball diamond that was located not far from where Hotaru and Mara sat stretching out on the grass, while the girls of the class were to play volleyball.

With the lavender-haired boy on her thoughts, Hotaru's gaze sought him out across the campus and soon found him, standing at the pitcher's mound as he was apparently jesting with a few of the other boys on his team. Like Hotaru, Trunks did not particularly like gym class either, but his reasoning was far different from Hotaru's own—that she hated it because she was simply not that athletic. In gym, and in any other sport that Trunks found himself having to take part in, Trunks had to hold back his strength as much as possible so as to not rouse suspicions or cause unintentional harm to others. Unfortunately, Trunks was also an _extremely _competitive person that absolutely hated to lose, so at times he would push the boundaries of what was "normal human strength" just enough to end up on top.

Perhaps he sensed the weight of Hotaru's gaze upon him, or maybe thoughts of her just happened to cross his mind at the same time thoughts of him crossed hers, as Trunks's attention was suddenly diverted from the boys around him to focus on Hotaru. His eyes locked with hers, and a wide smile worked its way to his lips as he nodded to her in acknowledgement.

Mara stared at Hotaru for a few moments before following the violet-eyed girl's gaze, a sly smile working its way over her glossy lips as she realized who it was that was the focus of Hotaru's attention. "It's amazing how much Trunks Briefs has changed since you transferred here. I think everyone was convinced that the Ice Prince's heart simply _couldn't _be melted."

A wave of embarrassment came over Hotaru as she pushed herself up from the ground to stand, dusting off the blades of grass that had become stuck to her bare pale legs. She was wearing the typical gy uniform of the Academy, which consisted of a white t-shirt with the school emblem over the upper right side of the chest and a pair of simple black shorts. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mara."

"Oh, _puh-lease_, it's so freaking obvious to everyone that you two have a thing for each other," Mara informed the other girl, standing up on her two feet as well and stretching her arms high above her head. "I mean, he's with you _all _of the time and if he's not, you can damn well bet he will be before long. I'm not even gonna get into the way how you two look at each other."

To be honest, Hotaru hadn't thought that their "relationship" was so obvious that even uninformed onlookers could tell that something was going on between the two of them. Truthfully, _nothing _was going on between Hotaru and Trunks, and it had been that way for almost a week now. With the complete lack of privacy, there were only a few rare occasions that Hotaru and Trunks found themselves alone with each other, and those times were usually at school. With the constant need of people around her to make sure that she was protected and a curfew to be home by, there was simply no opportunity for the two teenagers to explore a relationship.

The whole relationship thing with Trunks wouldn't be nearly as frustrating for Hotaru if the boy knew how to keep his hands to himself. Being the introverted person she was, public displays of affection were things that made her embarrassed just by _thinking _about them, yet the lavender-haired boy did everything he could to do just enough that he couldn't get in trouble for it and, at the same time, it just wasn't _enough _for Hotaru to relish it. When passing in the hallways in-between classes, Trunks would either stand just a bit too close or brush the back of his hand against hers while they walked. On more than one occasion, Trunks had grabbed her hand to give it a quick squeeze as they walked home, before releasing it before Goten or anyone else could observe it.

There was far more than _that _going on in the terms of brief and chaste touches, and regardless of what it was that Trunks did, he was successful in driving Hotaru closer towards frustrated madness. It was like having but a taste of the sweetest fruit; not enough to fully indulge in the flavor of it, but enough to give an idea what it tastes like. Unfortunately, Hotaru was given tastes of this fruit in the smallest and most sporadic of doses, and it was never adequate enough.

Teenage hormones were an infuriating thing. It was difficult in moments like those for Hotaru to stop thinking about the way that she and Trunks had kissed in her bedroom. Although only a week had passed, it had been long enough for the memory to somewhat fade, making it far less vivid in her mind than it had in the day immediately afterward. She wanted her breath to be stolen away by him again, and she wanted him to make her feel things that she never had felt in her entire existence.

"We're not together Mara," Hotaru suddenly admitted to the other girl with a slightly sad tone. "Things are kind of at a standstill between us at the moment. The timing is kind of bad."

Mara stared at Hotaru, her eyebrows raised up in confusion and interest. "Who the hell cares about _timing_? If you're in love, you're _in love_. Besides, from where I'm standing, labels are probably just a formality at this point for you two. He already looks at you like you're the only girl in existence. You're _so _lucky."

Hotaru felt her cheeks quickly becoming hot. "He doesn't look at me like that," she attempted to deny in a mumbled voice, staring down at the ground just past her shoes.

"He _does_," Mara insisted as she reached over to set her hand on the violet-eyed girl's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. "But, let me give you some advice, sweetie. If you two really aren't _together_, you best be changing that fast. There are girls that go to this school that like Trunks Briefs for all of the wrong reasons, and don't think they'll step on a few toes to get to him—_especially _since he seems interested in dating now. If they learn that he's still technically available, they'll be like a predator on the prowl and don't you think for a moment that these girls wouldn't hurt you in the process."

A troubled look washed over Hotaru's face as she listened to Mara's words. Although she doubted that Trunks would be so easily swayed by the devotions of some lovesick teenage girls, she was certain that Mara was right about how those girls would behave if they learned Trunks was still on the market. Hotaru could not deny that simply watching girls throw themselves at Trunks's feet and smothering him with attention would hurt her, and she could only wonder other kinds of things they would do just to worm their way into Trunks's heart. Furthermore, Hotaru did not expect Trunks to be patient with her _forever…_

Forever; that was something that Hotaru did not have the luxury of. Lately, it was simply too easy to forget that she was an alien on this world and would eventually have to return to her own universe once the situation here had been resolved—and _that _was the best case scenario. It pained Hotaru more than she would care to admit that there just wasn't an outcome to this predicament that would allow her any sort of "forever" with Trunks. Either they would be separated at the end by space and time, or by her own death.

With an uncertain future that couldn't keep any promises, Hotaru could only rely on the present. Did she want to pursue a relationship with Trunks, regardless of the undoubtedly bleak outcome? At this point, Hotaru would be lying to herself if she said that was something that she _didn't _want. Trunks was the first person that she had ever found herself attracted to, and while the timing was unquestionably improper, did that mean she should allow the opportunity to pass her by so that she could only regret it later? Of course, that was assuming that she would even survive long enough to feel regret.

Hotaru didn't know if she could handle anymore regret. She had already sacrificed so much happiness in her countless many lifetimes for the sake of others. If she were to die tomorrow, Hotaru would rather know the feeling of loving someone and being loved in return than not having ever known it at all. The opportunity of that happening was _now_, and Hotaru had no way of knowing if that chance would ever again present itself. More likely than not, it wouldn't.

"What can I do?" Hotaru inquired to her brunette friend, her voice quiet and unsure. She was absolutely certain that she did not want to share the lavender-haired boy with anyone else, and at least while she was alive and present on this world, she wanted Trunks to be completely hers. Unfortunately, Hotaru hadn't the slightest notion on how to get the gears moving to make that happen.

"March right up to him and tell him that you want to go out with him," Mara offered matter-of-factly.

Hotaru shook her head swiftly, feeling her cheeks heating up considerably at the suggestion. "I'm _not _that forward, Mara."

"Right, right, let's see…" the brunette hummed to herself as she mulled what sort of approach Hotaru could take in this situation. After a few moments, Mara snapped her fingers and grinned as she looked to Hotaru. "For you, this might be the best course of action! Make a conversation about it and ask him what he thinks about your relationship. Build on that until _he's _the one who says, '_Oh, Hotaru, would you please be my girlfriend?'_"

Hotaru's face fully flushed at Mara's words, feeling embarrassed that this sort of conversation was even taking place. Truthfully, this suggestion sounded much more favorable than the former one, but even this option would require Hotaru to be the one to start the conversation. She honestly did not believe that Trunks would reject her and keep the two of them as friends, but there was always the possibility that he had changed his mind over the course of a few days. That was what the typical teenagers did, wasn't it?

"At least talk to him about it, Hotaru," Mara pressed, pursing her lips as she gave her friend a sympathetic look. "You deserve to be happy, and you would be a fool to let him slip through your fingers."

_I am already a fool_, Hotaru thought sadly as her eyes traveled back over to the baseball field. A small smile dared to crawl across her lips as she watched Trunks successfully strike out the batter at the mound, sending him back to the dugout. Even from such a distance, Hotaru could distinguish that familiar arrogant smirk that she had come to see on his face most frequently. Trunks's blue eyes watched eagerly as the next unfortunate soul stepped up to the plate, the newest batter as unaware as the last that he was soon to be toyed around with by the half-Saiyan.

_I'm such a fool for even letting things progress to this point._

X

Mara's advice continued to weigh heavy on Hotaru's mind throughout the day, leaving Hotaru distracted from her classes as she internally debated what exactly she was going to do. There was one thing that she could not deny, which it was extremely unfulfilling to leave things as they were. The chaste and subtle touches were becoming a bit much for her to bear, and it felt more as if her emotions were toying with her as she was entirely uncertain what exactly she was to Trunks. Constantly she debated whether squeezing Trunks's hand back when he grabbed it was the right thing to do, or if she should allow him to touch her face as tenderly as he did and be passive about it.

Hotaru _needed _a definition on things, to find out where things truly stood between the two of them. She needed to know what the boundaries were, and she needed to know what he wanted from her out of this. Not knowing was causing her far too much confusion and it was obvious to her that she was wasting far too much time on something that would likely seem petty to others with all else considered. Perhaps if Hotaru finally got some clarity about what she was to Trunks, then she could focus her thoughts and energy on keeping herself out of enemy hands.

After school seemed like the perfect time to get things figured out, and Hotaru fully intended on bringing it up to Trunks then. Unfortunately, there was one small problem that was likely to get in the way, and it was that one little problem that would challenge her courage in bringing the subject up to Trunks.

That was Trunks's best friend and Hotaru's _other _escort from school, Goten.

"I _totally _blew my government test," Goten sighed dejectedly, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black pants. "I mean, I don't understand the big deal about _government _anyway. I live out in the freaking mountains for crying out loud! Mom's word is law in those parts…"

Trunks couldn't suppress his laugh. "If you want to integrate in society and stop being a mountain hermit, you _might _want to study a bit more. Then again, I think Gohan robbed all of the brains out of the gene pool and left absolutely nothing for you."

"I take offense to that," Goten grumbled, wrinkling his nose as he shot a half-hearted glare at Trunks. "And I don't have _time _to study. Too many girls want a piece of me, and what kind of guy would I be if I didn't oblige them?"

Hotaru, lingering a few steps behind the two chattering boys, couldn't help but roll her eyes at Goten's statements. While the two of them got along unquestionably well, it was sometimes hard to believe that Goten and Trunks were best friends. Goten was so completely different to Trunks; he didn't care about his grades in the slightest, he chased after every pretty girl in the school, and he never took anything at all seriously. There was a certain charm about Goten that gave Hotaru some understanding as to why the girls seemed to run to him in droves, but she couldn't imagine herself ever being attracted to the ebony-haired boy.

Still, Hotaru couldn't help but feel badly that she wanted nothing more than Goten to go away for a little while. She appreciated that he agreed to tag along with her and Trunks in order to protect her from the unseen dangers that were lurking about, but she just _really _needed to talk to the blue eyed boy and preferred to do so without the presence of his womanizing friend. Unfortunately, a wave of awkwardness washed over Hotaru each time she thought of asking Goten to grant her and Trunks some privacy. He always made such a big fuss about their relationship…

_Wait_, Hotaru thought suddenly as her eyes opened wide in realization. Maybe she was approaching the subject of getting rid of Goten entirely wrong. There was one other way to get the ebony-haired boy to make himself scarce, and this way had absolutely nothing with Hotaru. Perhaps this was something that could be more easily done by the best friend in this situation?

Hotaru fished her phone out of the pocket of her blazer and began to type a text message. Why hadn't she thought of this earlier? Goten had a tendency to do anything that Trunks asked him to, and while it was likely that Goten would fuss a bit, eventually he would do what the other boy said. Admittedly, Hotaru still felt a little guilty for resorting to such measures to separate the two best friends, but Goten didn't need to be present for this conversation.

_I have to talk to you about some things. Is there any way you can get Goten to head off without us?_

Hotaru looked over the text message one last time before taking a deep breath and hitting send. It was now or never. With this last obstacle out of the way, maybe things would finally be hammered out between the two of them, and they could either continue on as a couple in a relationship or—in the worst case scenario—just friends.

Hearing the buzzing of Trunks's phone in his pocket caused Hotaru's heart to thunder in nervousness, making her clutch the strap of the backpack that rested over her shoulder tightly. As the lavender-haired boy reached into his pocket to fetch his cellphone, Hotaru immediately regretted even sending the text message. Maybe he would think that it was rude for her to ask him to ditch his best friend? Perhaps he would become angry with her for even suggesting it—

"Goten," Trunks said as he suddenly stopped walking, sliding his cellphone back into his pocket. "I'll take it from here. You head on home."

Goten blinked his onyx eyes in confusion, halting in his steps as well. "What? But Gohan said I was supposed to walk with you guys until she got home-"

"Okay, maybe I didn't make myself _clear_," Trunks's voice sounded a bit agitated now as he narrowed his eyes at the other half-Saiyan. "_Get lost_. I'll take the hit from Gohan if he gets mad at you for ditching protection duties for today. I'm fully capable of taking care of Hotaru on my own."

At first, Goten seemed hesitant, not certain whether he should abide by his best friend's words or do as his brother had told him to. Eventually, Goten sighed, scratching the back of his head with a small smile on his lips. "Okay, okay, but if I get in trouble _you're _going to explain things to my big brother. Got it?"

"Sounds like a plan," Trunks agreed as his features relaxed, smiling at his best friend. "I'll catch you later."

"Bye Trunks, bye Hotaru," Goten bade, waving his hand at the two of them before jogging off. It wasn't long before the younger boy was completely out of sight, and Hotaru wondered if he was going to fly home right away or hang out in West City for the rest of the day. She still felt a little guilty for having made Trunks send him away, but at least the parting was on relatively good terms.

Trunks turned to Hotaru, holding his hand out to her before saying, "There's a park nearby if you want to hang out there while we talk."

"That sounds great," Hotaru told him, staring at his outstretched hand for a few moments before timidly reaching forward and grabbing on to it. As soon as she took his hand, Trunks gave it a firm yank, pulling the girl so that she was standing at his side. His fingers entwined with hers, squeezing them firmly before he began to lead the both of them towards the location of the park.

There were no words spoken between the two of them as they walked to the park, and that was perfectly fine. Walking with Trunks like this truly made Hotaru feel as if she was his girlfriend, and she very much enjoyed the feeling of his fingers entwined with her own. Of course her heart beat nervously in her chest and she prayed that condensation wouldn't form in her palm from her anxiousness, but overall the feeling of walking with him—hand in hand—made her feel peacefully connected to him.

They soon arrived at the park, and Hotaru was relieved to find that it was mostly vacant. There were a few students from various schools in the area that had made a detour to the park after they were dismissed for the day as well as a few elderly people who had gone to the park to take advantage of the nice day. Trunks continued to lead her away from where the concentrations of people were the largest, taking Hotaru to the large pond that resided in the very center of the park. He approached the shore of it before stopping, releasing Hotaru's hand and dropping down on to the ground.

"So, what's up?" Trunks asked in a tone that Hotaru could swear had an air of nervousness about it.

Now that she was here and all alone with Trunks, Hotaru felt the courage she had built up from earlier begin to crumble to a million little pieces. This was so very frightening to her, and the fear of rejection was forefront in her mind. At this point it seemed entirely foolish to believe that Trunks would turn away her feelings for him, especially considering that they just _held hands _the entire way here, but at times anxiety had a way of making a logical person believe things that were far from the truth.

Hotaru lowered herself to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them against it firmly. "I just…" she began before her throat closed off, not certain how exactly she should word her question to him. What would be the best way to start this conversation? She was never good with expressing her emotions and something like love—an emotion that was a rare experience for her existence indeed—was alien territory. Hotaru simply was at a loss as to how to proceed.

Trunks remained silent as he patiently waited for Hotaru to come up with the words for what she wanted to say. It made her wonder if he had some sort of idea what this conversation was going to be about, and knowing how her personality was, he was giving her enough time and space to articulate what she wanted to say to him. Of course, it was likely that he simply had no idea what this conversation was to be about, and he was just being respectful.

"Do you remember that night—when you snuck into my bedroom?" Hotaru asked him suddenly, hugging her arms around her legs more tightly to keep her anxiously trembling limbs from being apparent. The mere mention of that night made her face feel hot, recalling with crystal clear recollection of the kisses that had transpired in her room that night. It had been that night that started her downward spiral into madness for him, and it had been that night that made her long for him almost constantly.

Trunks was silent for a moment before he answered her in a voice that was just as silent as hers, "How could I forget it?"

Hotaru blew out a breath of air that she hadn't realized she had been holding. She had reached the point of no return and there was nowhere to go now but forward, to plunge herself further into the unknown. "Remember how I said that I wanted it to mean something?"

He answered her almost instantly, breathless, "Yes."

"Can…" Hotaru paused once more, again trying to find the words that would work the best for her. After a few seconds of silence, Hotaru swallowed the lump that had gathered in her throat and pressed onward, "Can it please mean something now?"

The question hung in the air as silence fell upon the two teenagers for several long and agonizing moments. Hotaru kept her gaze focused on the water of the pond before her, too frightened to spare even a glance at the boy beside her. She wondered why it was taking so long for Trunks to answer her, and the more time that passed without the lavender-haired boy uttering a single word in response caused Hotaru's anxiety levels to go through the roof. Doubt began to consume her, making her believe that maybe she had been a fool all along for having obsessed so much over Trunks and her feelings for him. Perhaps, after all, his feelings for her had been fleeting and nothing but momentary, and now his interests had moved on to someone far more deserving of them—

"Hotaru, it's _always _meant something to me."

The emotion in his word was unmistakable as was the conviction that he spoke them with, and the uncertainty that had so quickly amassed within Hotaru simply disappeared. Her breath became caught somewhere between her lungs and her throat, and she could almost hear her heart screech to a halt. This was really happening, wasn't it? Was the gap that had formed between the two of them being "just friends" and becoming something more finally about to be bridged? It seemed almost too good to be true, but Hotaru just could not disregard the heartfelt way that Trunks had just spoken to her. Even if she wanted to doubt what was going on between the two of them, she just couldn't.

Hotaru believed him, completely.

When Hotaru was finally able to find her breath once more, she hugged her legs more tightly against her chest, only now allowing herself to spare a timid glance at Trunks out of the corner of her eye. He had his head slightly turned toward her, his face revealing the nervousness he felt and his eyes staring at her in anticipation for what words she would speak next. Maybe this whole conversation—and the concept of stepping forward—was as thrilling and frightening for him as it was for her? While being in a relationship wasn't as new to Trunks as it was to Hotaru, it had been a long time since he had even entertained the idea of being with someone. After all, he had been burned so badly from Elsa and her reaction to his true identity.

"It has for me, too, Trunks," Hotaru told the lavender-haired boy as soon as she found the words she wanted to say. "I'm just ready for it to _really _mean something more. I've decided that I want to be selfish, that I want to be with you. I don't want to find myself regretting that I never at least _tried _to love someone, and especially someone as extraordinary as you. You've accepted me for all of my faults, for the person that I was and that I am, and even though you know that I'm dangerous. For some reason, beyond all of that, you still want to be with me."

"I've never once considered you as dangerous," Trunks admitted to her, sliding his body over so that he was sitting closer to her now, feeling much more confident than he did moments ago. "Like I've said before, I don't really care what you've done in the past or what you're capable of. I just don't meet people every day—and this goes for normal people _and _people like us—who cares so deeply about everyone else. You try to act tough all of the time, even though life has tried to beat you down again and again. There are not many people who are strong enough to endure that and still give a damn about others."

"You do," Hotaru pointed out.

A small smirk appeared on Trunks's lips. "I wouldn't say that I care about others in the way that you do. You are a self-sacrificing person that's willing to give up happiness for the sake of something greater. I'm not nearly so noble."

"That's right," Hotaru agreed suddenly, her tone amused. "You _are _a spoiled brat that always gets everything that you could possibly want. Even when I tried to keep on pushing you away, you just wouldn't listen to reason."

"I like living dangerously, what can I say?" Trunks grinned, leaning toward her to shove his shoulder against hers gently. "So, I guess this makes us boyfriend and girlfriend now, huh?"

Hotaru could feel her face becoming hot. Why did he have to point out what was already completely obvious? Of _course _this made them a couple now; that was the whole point of this conversation to begin with? "I…guess it does."

"I suppose going out to dinner and the movies is out of the question," Trunks surmised with a small sigh. "As much as I think I could take care of you well enough for a few hours, I could see Haruka pitching a fit at the prospect of me taking you out for anything other than academics. Hell, she'll probably be pissed knowing that I sent Goten off, knowing that I've had you all to myself."

"Probably," Hotaru agreed with a small laugh in her voice. She wondered how exactly this whole relationship between them was supposed to work with the current situation being so complicated. Hotaru didn't exactly find the idea of going on a date with Trunks with a chauffeur watching them ever so closely appealing, and there was only so much the two of them could sneak around before and after school without raising some sort of alarm. As much as Hotaru wanted to explore this relationship with Trunks, they had to be smart about it; there was no reason to put themselves or the future in jeopardy for the sake of being a couple and doing what couples did.

"Well, there _is _this thing that Capsule Corporation is having this weekend," Trunks stated suddenly. "Mom throws this formal company dinner for the staff and their families as a show of gratitude. Usually I don't have to go to the stupid thing, but since Mom's been getting more serious about me taking the reins of the company in the future, she wanted me to show up so that people could start getting used to seeing me around. She's invited Gohan and his family, so Goten is going to be there too, and Dad _might _be there unless he's able to find some way to disappear for the night."

Hotaru arched an eyebrow. "So are you asking me to go with you as your date?"

"I was going to ask you to go with me in the first place and I wasn't going to take no for an answer," Trunks informed her with a wide smirk. "I'm certainly not going to allow you to decline now that you're my girlfriend. You're going to come with me to the dinner, and I'm going to introduce you to _everyone _as my girlfriend."

"You do that, and I'm going to break up with you," Hotaru huffed. While she was certain that Trunks was jesting with her, she would most certainly be mortified if he went around at some dinner and bragged to everyone that she was his girlfriend. "In any case, I don't know if I can go to the dinner, anyway. I don't have a dress, and I don't see Haruka lending me any money so that I could buy something nice to wear so I could go to a dinner with you."

"I'll pay for it."

"No, you _won't_."

"Hotaru…" Trunks murmured her name with a pout in his voice. "You're not going to turn me down on our first date, are you? Come on, there has to be some other way. Maybe Michiru or Setsuna would be willing to help you out? They don't seem to have as much of a problem with me as Haruka does."

Hotaru sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration. She could already see where this conversation was going, and Trunks was going to guilt her into going to that dinner with him before they were finished talking about it. There simply wasn't a way to convince the lavender-haired boy of anything else when he had his mind set on something, and Hotaru honestly didn't know why she was even _trying _to fight with him on this.

Besides, Hotaru couldn't deny that she actually wanted to go with him to that dinner _as his girlfriend_. She knew that going with him as such was likely to be an awkward affair, but there was something about being Trunks's girlfriend that made her swell up with the slightest bit of pride. As much as she believed that she wasn't exactly a prize to have on anyone's arm, Hotaru found the prospect of going somewhere with Trunks as his girlfriend to be more than appealing, making her hesitant to truly fight with him on this subject.

"All right," Hotaru sighed, trying to appear as annoyed as she possibly could that she was being made to go to this dinner. In all honesty, she felt a twinge of excitement go through her body when she finally allowed herself to be convinced to go. "I'll figure out how to make it work. Just tell me when and where, and I'll be there."

**A/N: **I was trying to hurry up and get this written before I went to work for the night, so I'm sorry if there are mistakes in the last part or if it seemed a bit rushed. I'll try to have the next chapter out as soon as I can!

~kusari~


	11. Moving Forward

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z are not mine. They belong to their respective owners.

**A/N: Kylian—**Thanks for pointing out that little mistake! Apparently Elsa wanted to make her presence known in the story at some point! I stuck that little lady back where she belongs. **Hotaru Tomoe Fan**—I am in the process of getting something written out after this story is done, but right now they're just ideas so quite possibly yes in the future. And no, I don't think you're ten!

Had to make a little edit since littlemissanonymous noticed my little error T_T. Oops! Thank you for pointing it out!

This chapter is a little bit shorter than usual, but its building up for things to start changing fast!

**Ripple Effect  
>Chapter XI: Moving Forward<strong>

"Hotaru, you look so beautiful!"

Although Michiru's comment was most flattering, Hotaru could not help but feel incredibly self-conscious as she stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror that stood within her room. The girl in the glass that returned her stare was someone that Hotaru did not recognize, with her shoulder-length hair styled into loose curls which her adoptive mother insisted on doing for her. Even her face looked so different, accentuated with a good layer of evening makeup that was heavy on the eye-shadow and liner. For someone who had spent her entire life wearing little to no makeup and doing very little with her hair aside from brushing it clear of tangles each day, it all seemed too much.

Hotaru didn't know if she liked it, and in turn it made her wonder if Trunks would even like her looking the way that she did. Self-esteem just wasn't one of her strong points, regardless of the fact that the makeup and hairstyling should have boosted her confidence by quite a bit. Instead, she felt so much more vulnerable than she ever had before, worried that her current look would not appeal to the one person that she wanted to look the best for. Hotaru felt as if she would have had more luck wearing her school uniform at this point.

However, Hotaru could not say that she hated the satin dress that Setsuna had helped her pick out. On the contrary, Hotaru had a private love affair with the dress and adored it more than she wanted to admit aloud. The color of the dress was Tyrian purple, having thin straps that stretched over her shoulders and the bottom hem of the dress reaching just past her knees. The top of the dress hugged her torso a little more snugly than she was comfortable with, revealing the more womanly curves of her chest. The bottom of the dress meanwhile billowed out slightly from her waist, flowing around her thighs and legs. Aside from the way that the fabric clung to the uppermost part of her body, Hotaru really couldn't find much else that she disliked about the dress.

Yet, there was one major issue with the outfit that Hotaru could not keep silent about. The high heels that had been picked out for her, which were similar in color to the dress that she wore, were simply unacceptable.

"I'm going to fall on my face sometime tonight, I _know _it," Hotaru announced grumpily, dropping her gaze down to the shoes that covered her feet. "I don't understand why I just can't wear something with a heel that's flat."

"Over my dead body are you going to wear a _flat heel _to a formal affair such as this," Setsuna informed the violet-eyed girl in a voice that was final on the matter. "There is absolutely nothing to walking in high heels. All you need to do is take small, careful steps and _try _not to bend your knees too much."

Michiru added, "I don't see what the big deal is anyway, Hotaru. The shoes that you wore when transformed into Sailor Saturn had relatively high heels on them."

Hotaru couldn't believe that Michiru was actually comparing these sorry excuses for _shoes _to the boots that she wore as a Sailor Soldier. "Michiru, those were _boots_. When I was wearing those, I had more than enough support in my ankles so I didn't feel like I was about to trip each time I took a step. Do you two really want me to embarrass myself tonight?"

The Soldier of Time eyed the younger girl dangerously. "You're wearing the shoes, Hotaru."

Hotaru sighed as she relented, recognizing easily enough that she was fighting a losing battle here. She still didn't understand why she had to wear _these _shoes, regardless of the fact that they matched her dress perfectly in color. It wasn't like the people at the dinner were going to be paying much attention to her anyway, much less what she was wearing on her feet. For Hotaru, she figured it was more important to be comfortable than make a fashion statement.

Whilst the Soldiers of Time and the Sea fussed over the finishing touches of Hotaru's outfit, Haruka spent her time brooding as she sat upon Hotaru's bed. Haruka had made her opinion on the subject of Hotaru going out that night quite clear numerous times; she thought it a terrible idea and thought that letting their precious daughter go out was simply a recipe for disaster. Hotaru did not argue that Haruka had a point, but there was much more to Haruka's sour mood than their daughter going to some dinner while the enemy was likely looking for an opportunity to snatch her up.

"I can't believe we're leaving our daughter in the hands of a bunch of _hybrid monkeys_," the Soldier of the Sky complained loudly, her arms folded of her chest and her eyes narrowed at the three other women.

The insult towards Trunks's heritage made Hotaru's anger surge almost immediately, causing the violet-eyed girl to turn her head abruptly towards the blonde-haired woman. "Take that _back_, Haruka. Trunks and the others have been nothing but nice to me, and I've been the one inconveniencing them with all of these escorts they've been doing while I've been at school."

"I won't," Haruka insisted, her glare never wavering as she stared at her adopted daughter, "because it's _true_. By their own definition and your own, they _are _basically hybrid monkeys. Hell, they even had tails and could transform into giant apes…"

"What's your problem, Haruka?" Hotaru questioned, her voice nearly trembling with the anger she felt as she clenched her hands into fists at her sides. "The Saiyans have done absolutely _nothing _to warrant your insults. Trunks and the others have been protecting me without receiving anything at all in return."

"I don't know about _that_, my dear," Haruka huffed. "You're _dating _one of them now, aren't you? It appears at least one of them is getting something out of this."

_She better not be implying what I __**think **__she's implying_, Hotaru thought furiously. "You care to clarify on what you mean?"

"I think you know well enough what I'm implying here. How involved are you two right now, exactly? You two kids had done quite a bit of sneaking around before, especially when I strictly forbade you from even speaking to the little punk."

"For one, how _involved _I am with Trunks is none of _your _business," Hotaru informed Haruka, barely able to contain her anger. She could feel her power stretching out from the binds of her control, and it was taking everything she could to keep up from snapping out and hurting someone. "Secondly, Trunks is not a _'little punk'_. He's been very respectful and kind towards me, and I would appreciate it if you would show him some respect as he is _my boyfriend_."

"Okay, you two need to settle down," Michiru said suddenly, trying to diffuse the quickly escalating emotions within the room. "Haruka, _you _are way out of line, here. This is a special night for our daughter—it's her _first _date—and I'm not going to have you spoil things for her. As for you, Hotaru, just ignore Haruka; she's only sore because she's realizing that you've grown up into a beautiful lady that the boys just can't resist any longer."

Shaking her head, Hotaru forced her attentions away from Haruka and attempted to will her fury away. She tried to remind herself that Haruka cared for her as deeply as a parent would for their own child, and it was from those feelings of parental love that was causing the Soldier of the Sky to have such a terrible attitude that night. Still, that did not make Haruka's comments any less out of line or make them any fairer. If she and Trunks had crossed that physical line in a relationship, Haruka was the least privy to that. That event was most intimate and was only the business of the two people involved, and it was hardly proper to interrogate someone about something as sensitive as _that_.

Besides, the two of them had only _just _started dating, and while there were people in both worlds that undoubtedly jump from one extreme in a relationship to another, Hotaru was not that type of person. Just because she was Trunks's girlfriend now did not mean she was going to slip in-between the sheets with him that very night. Still, it wasn't as if Hotaru was naïve to think everything would stay innocent and pure between the two of them for so long. If they were able to explore their relationship for a longer time than Hotaru believed that they had, it was possible things could get to that point. Right now, Hotaru was most definitely not ready for a step like that.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Haruka abruptly apologized in a low, frustrated voice. "I know everything I've been saying since you told me you were going to date that _kid_ has been over the top and out of line, but I just can't help it. Honestly, I don't think those Saiyans comprehend the magnitude of what could happen if the enemy gets a hold of you, Hotaru. If using you to open a seal is going to set off a chain of events that will end our world—and we still aren't any closer to figuring out what or _who _is in that seal—why would they care? It's not their future that's going to be destroyed because of it, so what do they have to lose?"

"I understand what you're saying Haruka, but I think you're failing to understand what Saiyan nature is like," Hotaru informed the blonde-haired woman as she turned to her, wearing a sad smile on her lips. "Saiyans are fiercely loyal and protective of the people they love, but they also don't back down from a fight. It's written in their DNA to fight—something I don't doubt that you all see as sick and barbaric—but for them, participating in a battle is as much of a necessity as breathing or eating. I'm sure that there is some part of their blood that yearns to see whatever is locked in that seal so they could try to fight it, but I don't think that they would willingly sacrifice my life to see it.

"I know I'm in good hands," Hotaru continued. "I trust them, just as much as I trust the three of you. I just ask that you all believe in them as well, and know that there are other people that can come to care about me as much as the three of you have. I don't think I could have ever dreamed that I would be able to meet as many incredible people as I have in this life."

Haruka remained silent for a while afterwards, considering every word that Hotaru had just told her. Eventually, the Soldier of the Sky's shoulders relaxed as she exhaled a deep sigh, running a hand through her short blonde strands. "Meh, I'm not going to say that I trust those Saiyans—and I'm certainly not going to promise that I ever _will_—but if you believe so wholeheartedly that they'll protect you when and if the time comes, then I suppose I can accept that."

A small smile spread across Hotaru's lips. "Thank you, Haruka-papa."

"_But_, if that boy so much as touches you in a way that is unwanted and improper, I will cut his hands off with my sword."

Sighing, Hotaru placed her face in her hands as she shook her head. Of course it would come back to _that_.

X

"You are _late, _and where in the hell is your damned _tie_, Trunks?"

Facing the potential wrath of his mother made Trunks feel more uneasy than he already was, causing him to shove his hands into the pockets of his tuxedo pants as he made his way to stand next to his mother, who was greeting the guests for the dinner that evening. He swore that there were no two parents in the entire universe that were nearly as frightening as his mother and father were. However, if the question had been asked who he felt was the most terrifying — his mother or his father— Trunks would have to say that his mother took the cake with ease. There had been more than a few times that Trunks found himself on the wrong side of his father's anger, but that hardly amounted to more than a good beating in the gravity room and then the two of them were over it. His mother, on the other hand…

Well, Bulma Briefs knew how to hold a grudge better than any other person on the face of the Earth, Trunks was certain. He knew well enough that whatever he did to rouse the sleeping fury within his mother would come back to bite him in the ass eventually, and he did not doubt that he would suffer the consequences for coming to a black tie event _without _his black tie. Whatever lie Trunks could come up to tell his mother would likely be seen through as easily as a pane of glass as he was certain that his mother was more than aware about his disdain for wearing that restricting piece of fabric. After all, he refused to wear it with his school uniform, and he would be damned if he had to suffer through a boring dinner of rubbing elbows with Capsule Corporation's best and brightest in an extreme amount of discomfort.

Telling his mother the blunt truth would be like signing his death warrant, so Trunks decided to take his chances with a lie. "I forgot it, I guess."

The look that his mother gave him verified that she did not believe in her son's forgetfulness. Bulma kept her tone low so that the new arrivals to the dinner could not hear, but the anger in her voice was unmistakable. "Trunks,_ the tie was in the garment bag with the tuxedo_."

"Oh," Trunks murmured, delivering a half-hearted smile as he nodded to a small group of employees in greeting before they entered into the cafeteria that had been dressed up as much as the invited guests were that night. "I guess I didn't notice it."

Trunks had to commend his mother for the hard work that she and her small team of advisors put into overhauling the company cafeteria to make it appear like a formal ballroom. Gone were the generic tables, replaced with several dozens of round tables with the finest white tablecloths that money could buy. On the side of the room that was lined with tall windows that faced out towards the back of the company's lot, a stage with a podium had been set up in preparation for a night filled with toasts and scripted speeches. If Trunks hadn't been in the cafeteria before, he would have sworn that the stage had always been present there. The tile of the floor had been polished just the night before, reflecting the lights that hung down from the ceiling high above. There was also a small band set up that was playing a collection of soothing music to entertain the guests as they became seated.

Honestly, the whole setup was a bit too flashy for Trunks's tastes. He was certain that his mother spent far too much money on everything, from the band that she had contracted to play to the expensive-looking china that was present on every table in the room. He was almost positive that the silverware was _real _silver, too. Trunks had only taken a glance at the menu for the evening, but he was convinced that food that was being offered was over the top as well. As much as he normally wouldn't complain about the variety of food, at very public events like this he would not be able to consume what was considered "abnormal" for a human being. Trunks was just looking forward to the _after _party, where he would be allowed to eat any and all leftovers that remained from the party. Generally, it was a contest between those with Saiyan blood to see who could claim the largest amount of leftovers first.

Before his mother could start in again about his attire, Trunks decided to change the subject. "Where's Dad? I don't sense him anywhere around."

"Oh _who knows_," Bulma exasperated, shaking her head vehemently enough that the earrings that hung from her ears swayed back and forth. "He might be here, he might not; it's hard to say with Vegeta. You know how much he hates these sorts of things."

"I can concur," Trunks snorted in amusement. "Have Goten and the others arrived yet?"

"I've seen Chichi, Gohan, Videl, and Pan," Bulma informed him. "They're already seated at our table with your little sister. Goten is apparently here, but I haven't seen him; Chichi seems to think that he's trying to woo some of the waitresses, which doesn't seem far-fetched."

Trunks laughed heartily. "That sounds like Goten, all right. You'll be lucky to see him any time before dinner."

Bulma fell silent for a few moments before her blue eyes glanced over to her sun, her eyebrow raised and a smirk pulled at her red-painted lips. "Not going to ask about the _girlfriend_?"

"She's on her way," Trunks told his mother, trying to keep a giddy smile from appearing on his face. He was trying to downplay the excitement that he felt from tonight being their first official "outing" together as a couple. Of course he had told his mother; Bulma was always so perceptive about these kinds of things with her son anyway and had already expected their relationship to get to this point eventually. Gohan and Goten were also aware of it, the latter having been teasing him incessantly since having found out about it. However, he cautioned everyone to not do the same with Hotaru as it was likely the girl would take such joking the wrong way.

He didn't want to screw this up. They didn't have the _time _to be screwing this up.

"One of these days I will have to thank that girl," Bulma sighed happily, folding her arms over her chest as she looked to her eldest child. "It's nice to have my son back. You seem so hopeful now, so _happy_. I know that Hotaru has a lot to do with that."

"She has everything to do with it," Trunks clarified in a definitive voice.

"I'm worried, though," Bulma admitted, the look in her eyes changing to one of sympathy. "If she has to go when all of this is over with, how are you going to take it? I don't suppose there's any way that she could stay here once everything is resolved?"

Silence fell over Trunks as he mulled over his mother's words. He very much doubted that there was anything he could do to convince Hotaru to stay in his world, but he would be a liar if he said that he didn't hope that there would be some way to keep her there with him. What was waiting for her when she got back to that Tokyo of hers other than the same dreadful and depressing life that she had been living for so long? He had noticed Hotaru had changed quite a bit since they had become friends—and now something more—as well. It was obvious they were both good for each other, healing the old wounds that had been there for so long.

Still, Trunks was realistic. "Hotaru is very duty-oriented when it comes down to it. The truth of the matter is that she and her family _don't _belong here, and things are becoming seriously altered by just their presence here. Hotaru will ultimately do what is right for everything and everyone else, even if her own happiness needs to be sacrificed."

"And you're okay with that?" Bulma inquired, sounding uncertain.

"I'll have to be," Trunks sighed. "It's not my choice to make; it's hers."

"Oh, _whatever_," Bulma muttered. "What kind of Saiyan are you, anyway? I would think that you would at least put up a _fight _to keep Hotaru here instead of accepting things as they are."

"Well, I _am _half-human, Mom," Trunks reminded his mother with a small smirk.

"Generally, even humans have a hard time accepting a future that isn't in their favor," Bulma informed him. "They usually fight like hell to survive and be happy, whether that's against other humans, aliens, or even the gods above. You _shouldn't _give up so easily. If you do, you might miss an opportunity to find a way around a possible separation. Just keep an open mind, okay sweetie?"

As much as Trunks wanted to keep an open mind, he just didn't see how it would be possible for the two of them to end up together after everything was finished. It hurt like hell to think that their relationship would only get so far before having to come to an end, but Trunks was certain the pain would be magnified to a terrifying degree if he allowed himself to believe that there was a method that they could have a happy ending. Furthermore, he didn't want to push Hotaru away by entertaining any sort of belief that they could be together and happy as she was even more convinced than he was of the outcome of their relationship.

There was little time to mull over his mother's words or his own thoughts any longer as he sensed the approach of the girl that had plagued his thoughts. Her ki signature was slight, but at this point he could pick it out of a crowd as easily as he could Gohan or Goten's when they were suppressing their ki. He could sense her just outside, lingering outside of the building, and Trunks surmised that she was debating on even coming in or not. After a few moments longer, the glass doors at the entrance of the building slid open, and Hotaru carefully stepped inside.

It took all of the willpower Trunks had to keep from launching himself across the lobby and towards his girlfriend. She looked absolutely _stunning_ and was hardly recognizable from the amount that she had been made up for the evening. It was odd for him to see her hairstyle worn any differently from the straight ebony strands that he had become so accustomed to since he had met her, enjoying the look of the slight curl in her hair. The appearance of Hotaru wearing makeup _was _a little odd for him since he thought the girl looked just fine without it, but that was not to say it didn't make her look quite nice. The dress—_that _dress—was just the icing on the cake as it made her appear more of a woman her age than a high school student.

Hotaru approached him and his mother with careful steps, and Trunks's eyes immediately then took notice of the heels that she wore on her feet. Oh, he could already tell that her hatred for those shoes probably surpassed that of what he had towards his tie, but he could not poke fun at it. This was supposed to be a special night for the two of them, not a night to make her feel uncomfortable and regretting that she even came.

As soon as Hotaru came to stand before Bulma and Trunks, she did not hesitate to speak first, "Sorry I'm late. Haruka took her time getting here…"

"Oh, sweetheart, don't you _worry _about a thing!" Bulma comforted Hotaru, walking up to the girl that still stood shorter than she and setting a hand on her shoulder. "You look wonderful, dear. I'm so glad you could join us tonight!"

Trunks could notice a slight blush cover Hotaru's cheeks even from under the layer of makeup that she wore. "Mom, you're making her embarrassed."

"Trunks, you need to tell this girl how gorgeous she looks right now!" Bulma half-scolded her son, putting her hands on her hips as she delivered a small glare.

"Bulma…" Hotaru muttered softly, the look on her face showing her obvious discomfort at the fuss the older woman was making over her.

"Hotaru, you look absolutely amazing," Trunks informed his girlfriend with nothing but complete sincerity in his voice. "Now, _Mother_, if you don't mind I'd like to show Hotaru to our table so that she doesn't die from the amount of attention you're giving her."

"Oh, right," Bulma stepped away from Hotaru, giving the violet-eyed girl a sweet smile.

Trunks walked up to Hotaru as soon as his mother vacated her, holding his arm out for her. After hesitating for only a moment, Hotaru reached up to grab her hand on to his arm, enjoying the feeling of the curve of his muscles underneath the layers of his shirt and tuxedo jacket. Already she felt steadier on her feet with someone strong and sturdy to hold on to, no longer fearing that she could trip over her feet at any moment. Hotaru knew that if she were to fall, Trunks would get her balanced before anyone realized that she had even stumbled.

As Trunks led her towards the door, Hotaru couldn't help but feel a slight tug at the back of her mind that something was _off_. She wasn't sure what it was as she had never experienced such a feeling before, but it made her wary as she approached the large entryway that led into the cafeteria. Did she forget about something? No, she was certain that wasn't it; Michiru or Setsuna would have reminded her if there was something she had left at home, that she forgot to do. Still, what was it that was causing her to wonder so much, and even causing a chill to travel up her spine? It wasn't due to the cold, of that she was certain; the temperature in the building was actually quite comfortable.

"What are _you two _doing here?"

Immediately, both Trunks and Hotaru paused in their steps, turning their heads towards Bulma's frantically confused voice. Trunks had obviously caught glimpse of what was going on before Hotaru, moving over to his mother more quickly than he should have in the eyes of the public. His immediate spike in power was easily recognizable, and Hotaru was almost positive that there was going to be a fight right there in the lobby.

Hotaru moved her head to the side to see who Trunks was staring at and what was causing a low grow to escape his clenched teeth. However, once her eyes focused upon what had caused her boyfriend and his mother to become quickly unsettled, she felt her blood run cold.

It was her mother.

**A/N: **Cliffhanger of doom~! Happy Easter to everyone! Please leave your review to tell me what you think!

~kusari


	12. Goodbye

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z are not mine. They belong to their respective owners.

**A/N: **I really owe you all a massive apology and an explanation for my absence. This chapter had been written for quite a while, sitting on my hard drive, but real life intervened big time.

My best friend and I came up with this story through roleplaying, and she essentially helped me get the first few chapters out (although they're revised greatly from their original form). She helped me, offered me suggestions, and encouraged me all along the way. It's likely that without her, I would have never posted this story up in the first place.

She passed away two weeks ago today from brain cancer. Her death has taken quite a toll on me emotionally, but I'm trying to get myself back to where I was when I originally started this fanfiction. She used to urge me a lot to update, was the one who tried to keep me on course. Unfortunately, her illness robbed her of her speech, and she was no longer able to offer me solid feedback without struggling to find the words to convey what she wanted to say.

I am sorry for the wait, but time moves on, and I need to get this story going again. Thank you so much for your support, and please continue to support me from here on out.

**Ripple Effect  
>Chapter XII: Goodbye<strong>

Hotaru had prepared herself with the eventuality that she would one day cross paths with the mother she had long believed to be dead. She knew that encountering her mother again would no doubt be difficult as she had cherished her mother and the memories she had of her when she was a child. It wasn't farfetched for Hotaru to believe that her mother—or the person who wore her mother's face—was likely directly tied to everything that had occurred, from causing their future's disappearance to the possible interest of the seal which contents remained unknown. Yet, Hotaru could not help herself as she felt a small degree of elation spread through her from staring upon the face of her mother.

Eight years was all of the time that Hotaru had with her mother, but it was those eight years that she had been at her happiest. For the most part, Keiko had been the one that had raised Hotaru until she eventually perished from the laboratory explosion, as Hotaru's father was constantly absent as he conducted numerous twisted experiments that would hold great bearing upon Hotaru's life later on down the road. It was her mother who dropped her off at school each morning, and then picked her up when she had finished with her classes for the day. Regardless of what little Hotaru could do to help her, her mother always allowed her young daughter to help her bake or cook in the kitchen. At night, it had been her mother that would tuck her in and read her bedtime stories.

Losing her mother had been devastating, plunging the young Hotaru in a deep depression that took her years to escape from. It did not help matters any that her father took it upon himself to "rebuild her" with cybernetics due to the injuries that she sustained from the laboratory explosion that claimed her mother's life. Furthermore, she had been placed in the care of a father that remained ever vacant and his secretary that loathed her, causing her to feel alienated and alone. Of course this had been the same time that her powers manifested, complicating the situation even further.

So, it was difficult to _not _be at least somewhat happy to look upon the face of her mother, a face that had not aged a day since Hotaru last saw her. Even her mother's hairstyle was the same, wearing her long black hair as straight as Hotaru remembered it. However, looking upon her mother's soulless eyes made the brief happiness that Hotaru felt immediate dissipate. There was no warmth from this woman, and everything about _this woman _was chilling.

_This woman is not my mother,_ Hotaru reminded herself firmly. Her mother was but an ordinary human who would have showed at least _some _signs of aging after ten years' passage. On top of the lack of wrinkles that should have begun to crease her forty-something mother's face, there did not appear to be a grey hair present in the sea of her black hair. Furthermore, there was no possible way that her _human _mother could emit the amount of dark and powerful energy that was rolling off of this woman's aura. The sense of her power was a bit overwhelming, making Hotaru's head pound slightly and the twistedness of it even made her feel nauseated.

The man who stood at Hotaru's mother's side, his arm hooked with hers, was no different. This man Hotaru recognized as Dr. Loki Celadus from having seen his picture in Capsule Corporation's files. His eyes had no light about them and seemed to be narrowed enough to indicate the sinister nature that lingered behind his icy blue depths. It was impossible to distinguish Loki's aura from her mother's as the energy she was emitting was far too overpowering, but Hotaru supposed that he was not entirely human or good either. A strange feeling of familiarity nagged at Hotaru, making her feel as if she had encountered Loki somewhere before. However, she was certain that the two of them had not ever met before today.

"Dr. Tomoe, Dr. Celadus—both of you are not welcome here," Bulma informed the pair, her eyes staring at them warily.

Keiko reached into the handbag that was in her possession, pulling out a pair of envelopes which Hotaru recognized as invitations for the dinner that night. "I would say that _these _say differently."

"Both of you resigned from the company," Bulma reminded Keiko in an annoyed tone, "therefore, those invitations are rescinded."

"How rude," Keiko remarked, her words sounding as detached and cold as her violet eyes appeared. Her gaze glanced past Bulma and Trunks before settling upon Hotaru, a small smirk tugging at her pink lips. "Hotaru, my _darling _daughter, would you not say a word in your mother's defense?"

Trunks moved inhumanly fast once more, his body blocking Keiko's view from Hotaru as a look of fury burned within his blue eyes. "_You don't look at her. _You don't _speak _to her. The both of you need to turn around and leave right now before I _make _you."

"I would heed the boy's words," another voice suggested as Vegeta walked through the doorway of the cafeteria, his onyx stare focusing on Keiko and Loki who he found to be standing far too close to his wife than what he felt comfortable with. His body was tensed, prepared for the moment that they either moved closer to his wife or made a gesture that he considered to be threatening. That moment would be all of the persuasion Vegeta needed to launch an attack that was not merciful or considerate of how public that altercation would be.

Keiko did not seem at all phased from the heavy threats that she had received from both of the Saiyans, the smirk never wavering from her lips. Her violet eyes glimmered with the slightest hint of pride, enjoying the fact that she was causing everyone around her to become on edge by merely her presence. Neither she nor Loki moved to make an exit, instead standing their ground as firmly as ever and remaining visibly calm in the face of what danger that the Saiyans could bring unto her.

"It was not my desire to crash your little party," Keiko informed them, her free hand reaching up to tuck a few long strands of her ebony hair behind her ear. "However, it seems that with all of your heady threats that I need to prove how badly you all have underestimated me. _Hotaru…_"

Keiko had said her name in a whispered purr, and in the very next moment a buzzing noise began to thrum in her mind. It started off low and quiet at first, more of a tolerable annoyance to Hotaru than anything. However, the noise escalated most quickly, soon sounding nearly as similar if there had been a thousand locusts singing their song within her brain. The noise was persistent, becoming impossibly louder with each passing second, making Hotaru drop to her knees on to the floor and resisting the urge to curl up into the fetal position in the agony that this sound was causing her. Her hands reached up to cover her ears in vain, and tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes.

It just wouldn't _stop_. When Hotaru forced her eyes open to stare at her mother—who she did not doubt was the cause of this wretched sound—she realized that her sight was become affected as well. Her vision blurred regardless of where and who she pulled her gaze to, compromised further with the growing presence of tears in her eyes. As her failing vision focused on Trunks, she could barely distinguish any features on his face regardless of how close he was already standing to her. She could also hear nothing, nothing except _that sound_.

If only that was the worst of it. Hotaru could feel her powers begin to retaliate against the psychic attack on her brain, her energy snapping out angrily at everything and anything in a desperate move to save its vassal from the siege it was under. Tendrils of power pressed against the walls so forcefully that they began to crack and buckle, and then even the tile floor beneath Hotaru began to shatter and crater beneath the weight of her energy. Soon enough, the building around her began to groan and tremble, the ground shaking as her power continued to manifest even further.

"Get _out!_" Hotaru shrieked, shaking her head back and forth as she tried to pull her power back into her. The noise in her mind was breaking apart and gnawing away at every bit of control Hotaru had over her energy, allowing her powers of death and destruction to do what it pleased, to go where it pleased. Hotaru knew well enough if this continued it would not just be the building that was at risk of crumbling; the entire city was in danger of being leveled as well.

Vegeta had the instinct to dodge the tendrils of power that were shooting out of the teenage girl at unpredictable bursts and angles. A few times it had been too close, barely dodging a wisp of power as it cut through the sleeve of his jacket and into the flesh of his arm, causing it to bleed profusely. As Hotaru's power began to amass everywhere around him, Vegeta realized that the situation was likely to escalate to the point that the building would have to be vacated. It was possible he only had time enough to save his family—let the rest of the humans be damned; Kakarot's family could easily escape unscathed on their own.

Of course it would be his foolish son who had been completely enthralled by the emotions he had of that girl which would cause him to do something utterly foolish. Vegeta had noticed a moment too late that his son had moved to help the girl that had been causing all of the disruption. "Trunks, _no!_"

All Trunks had done was turn on his heel and take a few steps towards Hotaru before he hit a wall—literally. Vegeta had sensed that the girl had likely subconsciously formed something of a shield around herself during the midst of the psychic attack, though her shield lacked consistency probably due to the fact that her mind was still under assault. The shield wobbled like a spinning top about to fall, alternating between stretching a few feet in in diameter around her body and pulling towards her body, lingering only a few inches from her skin. Furthermore, Vegeta could sense that this was just not only a shield that would protect Hotaru from attacks; it was ready to attack anyone who approached her as well.

Trunks, having only desired to help out his girlfriend that was obviously in excruciating pain, was covered in violet electricity a moment before his body was sent flying back. He collided with the floor halfway across the lobby and his body slid into the wall, his body creating a small crater in the wall from the impact.

"Do you fools understand now?" Keiko asked, her tone amused as she watched Hotaru writhe in pain on the floor. "Hotaru has spent her entire life keeping this dark and terrifying power of hers under control, but in a moment I can erode that control away and turn her into a time bomb about to go off. And just think I am being _gentle _with her. If I wanted to, I could have made her released every bit of power she's kept bottled up over the past few years and this city would be nothing more than another crater in the Earth."

And then, the sound in Hotaru's mind suddenly stopped. While the relief she felt was instant, it took Hotaru quite a while before she was able to compose herself. She set her hands down on the floor in front of her knees as she panted, trying to catch her breath and settle her persistently thundering heart. Gradually her vision returned to her as well, able to see the situation around her as clearly as she had only a few moments ago. Her body trembled for some time afterwards, from a combination of frazzled nerves and attempting to contain her powers inside of her once again.

The guilt consumed Hotaru almost immediately, her gaze traveling over to where Trunks was just starting to push himself back up to his feet. She had hurt him—unintentionally, yes—but she had still caused harm to the boy she had come to love. Regardless of the fact that he was physically stronger than she did not excuse the fact of what had just occurred; her powers had treated Trunks as if he was a threat and attacked him.

"What's going on?" Gohan's worried voice shouted, running through the doorway of the cafeteria with his younger brother following closely behind. The both of them skidded to a stop as they observed the situation in front of them, their gazes traveling from Hotaru to Vegeta, from Vegeta to Bulma, and then towards the menacing pair and to where Trunks had been flung to across the room.

"Just a little family reunion," Loki informed the newcomers with amusement in his voice. At the very moment that he uttered his first word, Hotaru realized that she _had _crossed paths with Loki at least once before. Back in the alleyway, when she and Mara were attacked by the two cloaked men, this man was undoubtedly the smaller of the two that used his magic to control Mara's mind. However, Hotaru felt confused as Loki did not seem aware as to who she was at that time in the slightest. Hadn't he researched her with her mother when they were employed at Capsule Corporation?

Hotaru wondered if Trunks had also realized that Loki and the cloaked man from such a long time ago were one and the same, but as her eyes settled upon her boyfriend, Hotaru realized that even if Trunks _had _the notion that they were the same person, he just didn't care at this point. As Trunks completely covered from being attacked by Hotaru's power, he steadied himself on his feet and his body tensed up suddenly, his gaze focusing on Loki and Keiko. Hotaru could feel his power begin to rise and golden lightning beginning to crack all around his body. It was obvious to tell from just looking at Trunks's face that he was beyond furious, his eyebrows drawn down over his narrowed eyes and his teeth bared, a low growl escaping through them.

"I'm going to say this _one more time_," Trunks snarled low, his lavender hair beginning to fly up and stand above his head, becoming more pointed with each passing second. "The both of you need to leave _right now_. I'm not going to tell you again."

Keiko openly rolled her eyes at the young half-Saiyan. "_Please_. Do you Saiyans just lack any comprehension of understanding how much I overpower you all right now? I figured my earlier display would have been plenty explanation of the kind of different level I am on compared to _you_."

Sparing no care of who was around to witness, Trunks's hair blazed from lavender to gold and his eyes from blue to greenish blue, his pupils vanishing. A golden aura burned around him, humming loudly enough for even Hotaru to hear from where she was across the room. In this form, it seemed as if all of Trunks's kindness and humanity seemed to fade away, replacing it with a ferocious warrior that desired battle and blood beyond all else. It had been such a long time since Hotaru had witnessed Trunks's Super Saiyan form that she had nearly forgotten how it looked, and when she had seen it last she did not have the appreciation for it that she did now.

Only a second later, Trunks launched himself through the air at the pair, flying at a speed that was difficult for Hotaru to discern with her own eyes. She felt no comfort in Trunks attacking Keiko and Loki head-on, but it was the other three Saiyans that voiced their disapproval and warning for taking such an action. They shouted in their own various ways for Trunks to cease what he was doing, but their words fell on deaf ears as Trunks continued to charge at Keiko and Loki, his only desire to make them both pay dearly for what they had done.

However, before Trunks even reached the pair, his Super Saiyan form suddenly was dropped, his lavender hair falling around his face loosely once more and his eyes returning to the normal shade of blue that they once were. He fell from mid-flight, stumbling on to the tile floor below him and standing just a few feet from where his intended targets were. The look of confusion on his face was apparent as he looked over himself, uncertain as to what had just happened to make his Super Saiyan form fail so abruptly.

"As you seem to be confused, I shall enlighten you, _Saiyan_," Keiko stated as she looked over to Trunks with an uninterested look. "You all saw earlier that I could make Hotaru lose control over her power at my leisure, but why is it that you think that your Super Saiyan abilities are any different? Whether it is the powers of death and destruction or turning into some so-called _legendary _warrior, the energy to do so essentially comes from the same source. I can manipulate ki—or powers, or energies, whichever you prefer—with ease. I am able to either make you no different from a pot of boiling water that bubbles over the rim and spills out over everything, or I can turn off the heat so that you are lame and helpless.

"Now, unless the rest of you lot require any other proof that _I _am in control of what happens here, I will be gracious enough to inform you what will happen from this point onward," Keiko continued, "Hotaru is going to come with me to where Hades' seal is so that she can perform her final duty. As you all have witnessed, there is nothing at all that you can do to stop this from happening, so unless you desire an untimely death, I would suggest you all cease your attempts in interfering; you're not going to win, and this is most certainly going to happen."

Finally, it was revealed who was in the seal; Hades, the God of Death. Hotaru had very little knowledge about the era of which the Old Gods held direct control over her Universe, that time having been ages before even she came into existence. Only Chronos—the God of Time and Setsuna's original father—had been mentioned in more recent times, but his name was usually only invoked to allow safe passage through the Time-Space Door as his existence had disappeared with the rest of the Old Gods. As Setsuna's original father was the God of Time hence why she held the powers over Time and Space, it was just as likely that Hotaru was a descendent of the God of Death which gave her the power over Death and Destruction.

Hotaru could see why it was necessary to seal such a person in one universe and have the key to the seal exist in another; if Hades _had _abused his powers, the results would have been disastrous. For someone like Hotaru, who had in her first incarnation likely bartered to have that kind of power on a scale beyond what a mortal person should ever have, had limits bestowed upon her so it could not be abused. Unlike any other power that existed, the Power of Death _needed _to have some sort of means to punish the user as the possibility of corruption was so very high. A god, who would have been either immortal or nearly impossible to kill, would have no such restrictions on his power. He would be able to use that power without constraint and without care.

This was why, Hotaru realized, that her future had disappeared; the God of Death would have powers like hers but on a much dramatically larger scale. It was not improbable that he could demolish an entire universe within a brief moment of time before moving on to the next, and that put everything and everyone in _existence _into jeopardy. No one would be safe from the wrath of a corrupted God of Death; he would snuff out lives one after another, because that's what a God of Death _did_.

Hotaru knew what she had to do. She could not be taken by the woman who wore her mother's face, and she could not let everyone she had come to know and love die because she wanted to live. Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna; they had raised her from the brief time she had been reborn into an infant into the young woman she was now, and there was no possible way that she could show them how gratuitous she felt for what they had done for her. The Princess and the Inner Soldiers had become something of an extended family, always making a big deal for everyone to get together around birthdays and holidays, showering Hotaru with every bit of love as they did each other. All of the people of the Earth in her universe deserved a future, even if it meant she would have to pay the ultimate price to make that happen.

Hotaru wanted to save the people of _this _Earth, too, as well as the Saiyans who had become her friends. Gohan had been such an excellent teacher to her, treating her no differently in the classroom even though he knew that she was different. While Hotaru's interactions with Goten were only limited to the security details he partook in with either his older brother or Trunks, she had come to grow fond of his carefree attitude and even found his obsessions—whether that be food or girls—to be quite amusing. Trunks… Of course she wanted to protect Trunks, to make certain that he would have a life to live into the future, and that he would one day have an opportunity to meet a girl that he could truly be happy without worry that she would eventually have to disappear.

Pushing herself up to her feet, Hotaru stared at Keiko's face with narrowed eyes, fury and resolve burning within her violet depths. She then brought her hands out before her, summoning the weapon that she had kept tucked away for so very long. The weapon itself she had come to fear it in its years of dormancy as it was _this _weapon that unlocked her power to destroy a planet in an instant; the Silence Glaive. Soon enough the weapon materialized before her, measuring taller than her in height and the curved ivory blade reaching a head or two higher than she, and her slender fingers curled around the shaft.

Keiko took notice of the Glaive almost immediately, her ebony eyebrow arching upward in interest. "The Silence Glaive, huh? I had heard of it—the scythe of the Goddess of Destruction, the harbinger of death and destruction upon the plane which it's summoned upon. Would desperation truly drive you to destroy this world just to keep yourself out of my hands?"

Hotaru sadly smiled as she slid one hand up the shaft of her weapon, her fingers wrapping around it tightly just below where the blade began to form. She set her other hand upon the dull side of the blade, and then pulled the sharpest and curved side of the weapon towards the front of her neck.

"_Hotaru!_" Trunks shouted, surprised and disbelief clear on his face as he instinctively moved one of his feet a step towards her. The inclination was clear to him—and it was clear to almost everyone else in the room—as to what Hotaru intended to do. Gohan, Goten, and Bulma wore looks on their faces that were not dissimilar to Trunks's while Vegeta looked on in surprise with a degree of understanding lingering in his onyx depths towards the girl's actions. Meanwhile, Loki and Keiko could not have looked more shocked by Hotaru's resolve.

"I've become soft, I think," Hotaru said as the blade hovered so terrifyingly close to her skin. "I suppose if this were the old me, I would have destroyed this planet without a second thought in order to protect the future of my own world. I'd take everyone here—including Hades—along with me so that this threat could never be known again. However, I've come to like this Earth and the people on it, so I think just one sacrifice will be plenty.

"Now, let me explain to _you _what's going to happen," Hotaru continued in a voice that was calm and collected. "There is nothing about this body that is spectacular; it's human, just like the billions of other people that exist on this Earth and my own. So, if I am cut in this particular spot, I will most certainly bleed out and die before anyone here is able to do anything to stop it. With my death, this all stops here; there will be no revival of an Old God, and everything you have tried to do will be for naught."

After listening to Hotaru's words, the arrogant look that had once been present on Keiko's face vanished, replaced with a glare that spoke measures of hatred that the woman felt towards Hotaru right at that very moment. "Girl, I will have you know that if you take your life here and now, this planet's Dragon Ballswill _not_ revive you. You are not of this universe; therefore there is no place for your soul in the afterlife of this realm. You will cease to exist—is that what you want?"

"_Idiot_, put that weapon away!" Trunks growled, clearly becoming more unsettled with the knowledge that there would be no second chance for Hotaru if Keiko was telling the truth. "We can find another way! _You don't have to die!_"

"Trunks is right," Gohan tried to reason, his tone of voice uneasy. "We've come through worse situations before. Give us a chance to come up with a way to defeat them and to make sure that this god isn't resurrected. There's no point in killing yourself without exhausting _every_ outlet!"

"I'm sorry," Hotaru murmured, her voice revealing the depth of sadness she felt. "I can't take that chance. I appreciate everything you all have done for me, and I don't think words could ever express how happy I am to have met all of you. Please live on and be happy, and please tell Haruka and the others that I love them—that I'm sorry."

Just as Hotaru was about to bring the blade of the Glaive into the flesh of her throat, there was a large explosion that knocked her back on her rear and caused her to lose her grip on the Glaive, making it clank soundly to the floor beside her before it vanished back into the void from where it came. As a large mass of power tore through the windows that lined the front of the lobby with ease—aimed directly for where Loki and Keiko stood—Trunks jumped to the side and rolled, just barely dodging as the mass blew through where he once was. However, once the mass of power reached Keiko and Loki, the ebony-haired woman merely narrowed her eyes before the mass dissipated into nothingness.

"I knew this was a bad idea," Haruka remarked as she stepped into the lobby through the blown out windows, Michiru following quickly behind her. While the Soldier of the Sky had her Space Sword drawn and its blade glowing golden, Michiru held her hands above her head as she collected her power within her palms to launch another _Deep Submerge _towards the pair.

"I thought _I _was better known for my intuition," Michiru sighed as she continued to gather up her power. "I don't think I'm going to hear the end of this…"

"_Be careful!_" Gohan shouted from across the lobby, fearing for the two women's lives. "That woman can manipulate your ki! She'll be able to defeat you without laying a hand on you!"

Haruka shrugged her shoulders. "We already know _that_. We're not intending to defeat her—not yet, anyway. We're just buying some time."

Before anyone could ask what they were trying to buy time for, the windows in the cafeteria shattered soundly with Setsuna charging through them, running as quickly as her feet would carry her as she ignored the confused looks of the masses of people gathered for the dinner. Holding her Garnet Rod at her side with the large red orb at the top of it glowing, her gaze focused on the doorway that led her from the cafeteria and into the lobby where the altercation was occurring. Once she arrived at the doorway, she dug her heels into the tile floor until she halted, pressing the butt of her staff into the floor.

"_**Dark Dome Close."**_

Hotaru could only listen in horror as Setsuna invoked her ultimate power, a power that was there for her to use but at the same time was perhaps the most taboo spell in existence; the power to stop time. The moment after Setsuna spoke her incantation with strong declaration, everything just stopped. Keiko and Loki were frozen in place, only having turned somewhat towards Setsuna's abrupt entrance. The Saiyans were frozen in place, but due to exemptions that Setsuna no doubt made in her power, they were still able to turn their heads and their gazes somewhat in the midst of the spell. Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru were in similar predicaments.

"What is this?" Vegeta inquired as he stared at Keiko and Loki warily before glancing back to the cafeteria, noticing that everything had gotten eerily silent. It was as if the scene in the cafeteria were no different than a video that had been paused with the people inside frozen in various states of movement and discussion.

"I've stopped time," Setsuna informed them simply.

"This feels different than what I've experience before," Gohan remarked. "When Vegeta and I fought on Planet Namek, we encountered someone who was able to slow down time but not stop it like _this_."

"This is a power entrusted to the Guardians of Time," Setsuna explained. "However, this spell in particular is most forbidden. It consumes every bit of my power, and once it fades, I will be dead."

Hotaru knew this already, and all she could do was gaze at Setsuna in disbelief for having released this power for _her sake_. It was as if she was witnessing a terrible nightmare, fully understanding that once time was allowed to resume again that Setsuna would perish because of it—because of _her_. Tears formed in Hotaru's eyes once more, splashing down her face as the grief already began to overcome her. Why couldn't they have just let her die?! It would have been much simpler if they had just allowed her to take her own life, and then the situation would have been resolved...

"There is one last task I'm going to perform, however," Setsuna announced suddenly, her eyes focusing on Hotaru. "I'm going to send you back to our world. The expanse of Time and Space will provide you some protection while allowing the people here some time to find out how to beat this woman. Trunks, I want you to go with her; Hotaru's powers will be sealed on the other side of the Door and will need someone capable of protecting her. Can you do that?"

Trunks didn't hesitate. "Yes."

"Wait," Goten interjected suddenly with a confused look on his face, "how is Trunks going to get back _here _if you're dead? Won't he be trapped over there, and Haruka and Michiru trapped here?"

"There is a part of myself that always lingers between Time and Space," Setsuna explained, "once the situation has resolved or things have improved, I will return Trunks to where he belongs."

Hotaru felt herself becoming angry with the whole conversation and this whole predicament. "Don't I get a say in what's going on here?! I'm sure those two will go on a rampage if I'm gone! And what about Haruka and Michiru?! Keiko just said that if _I _were to die that there would be no resurrection for me, and I'm sure the same goes for Haruka and Michiru—and you as well! Why would you do this knowing that there would be no going back and no second chances?"

A small, sad smile appeared on Setsuna's lips. "I think you can answer that question just as easily yourself, but I'll tell you. I'm doing it because I love you like a daughter, a sister, and the dearest friend anyone could ever have. You and I have shared similar struggles in our lives; we bear such terrifyingly strong powers that weigh so heavily upon our shoulders, we both know what it's like to be solitary because of the necessity of our duty and fitting in with everyone else was never an easy task for either of us.

"I've enjoyed this life of mine beyond the duty of protecting the Door, but I also realize that it is because of that duty that this trespass was allowed to happen," Setsuna continued. "I indulged too deeply in this life that I turned a blind eye to what was going on at the Door, allowing these beings from our universe to pass into this one. Perhaps I would have been powerless should I have actually been at the Door myself, but at least I would have known that I'd have given it my all.

"You've only just started to live your life and allowed yourself to step outside your shell to let other people in," Setsuna's voice adopted a happier tone, her smile stretching across her lips. "I was worried for you, that you seemed so hesitant in forming relationships beyond the Sailor Soldiers. Yet, you came here and blossomed, and I realized that you have this wonderful new life of yours to experience things you never before permitted yourself to. I want you to continue down this road, Hotaru; live and be happy instead of surrounding yourself with destruction and the memories of death."

"Setsuna…" the tears streamed down Hotaru's face now, her voice cracking at the mere uttering of the Soldier of Time's name. There was so much that she wanted to tell Setsuna, and yet she could not form a coherent and concrete sentence to utter to the woman who was about to die for her. Grief was beginning to consume her entirely, her head tilting down so that her bangs could cover her eyes. If the spell had not locked the rest of her body into place, Hotaru was certain that she would be trembling.

"Goodbye."

As soon as Setsuna uttered her final farewell, Trunks and Hotaru both disappeared from sight, and Setsuna allowed time to resume once again. The moment that she released her hold upon the flow of time, the Soldier of Time dropped to her knees on to the ground and the Garnet Rod fell from her grasp to the floor beside her. The strength that Setsuna once had in her body began to fade ever so quickly, hardly mustering the will to lift her head and stare at her two remaining comrades. She panted softly, the color soon fading from her once tanned face as the life began to disappear from her eyes.

Once again, Setsuna smiled. "_Don't fail_."

And then, she collapsed to the floor.

X

The sadness Trunks felt for what likely happened immediately to Setsuna after they were sent into the Time-Space Continuum almost instantaneously moved to the back burner as he watched what occurred around him. When Capsule Corporation's lobby faded away, the two of them became shrouded in a fog that was so thick that Trunks could hardly see his hand in front of his face. At first this caused him to become alarmed as he was unable to see Hotaru, but after sensing that the girl's ki was still present and very close to him, his worry faded into wonder. He guessed that they had passed out of the limits of his universe and into a place just beyond it, a place that no one could normally reach.

This first stage did not feel alien to him; it felt like the atmosphere of the Room of Spirit and Time that Goten and he had trained in back at Kami's Lookout. He could feel that space was distorted all around him and that time held no merit here, so he supposed he and Hotaru were somewhere in-between universes where things such as time and space did not really exist. This place was probably the pathway between worlds that were never meant to meet, but it nonetheless existed for reasons beyond Trunks's understanding.

The second stage was probably the most terrifying. The fog suddenly dissipated from around the two of them and a black void covered the entire area. At first this second stage was absolutely breathtaking as the blackness soon gave way to glimmers of light which Trunks recognized as stars, and soon planets began to burst into life around the two of them—it was like they were floating in space itself, witnessing the birth of another universe! However, Trunks was only allowed a few brief moments of amazement at this stage before the two of them began to fall at a frightening speed. At the rate they were falling, stars and planets appeared no more than distorted rays of light, rendering the both of them unable to see anything definitively. This free fall continued for a time much longer than Trunks's liking, but eventually it came to an end.

The final stage was a brilliant flash of white light that was so blinding that Trunks had to shut his eyes tightly and shield them with his wrist. In the next moment, the sensation of falling faded as his back softly connected to the ground. After a few moments of nothing else happening, he dared to peek cautiously out from behind his wrist. He and Hotaru were now located within what seemed like a living room, but it was one that seemed alien to Trunks. The shape of the room was squarer than he was used to, and what technology and devices existed within the living room seemed quite outdated compared to what was prevalent in his world. The atmosphere seemed similar to his world, but at the same time it seemed completely _off_.

"Is this…your house?" Trunks inquired as he gave the living room another glance before he looked to Hotaru. "Are we on your Earth now?"

Hotaru continued to sit on the floor, and regardless of the fact that they had just traversed time and space, she hadn't seemed to move an inch or spare a care. She continued to sit on the floor with her head tilted downward, her ebony bangs covering the top half of her face. Trunks could easily notice that tears were still pouring down her face, covering her cheeks in condensation from her grief. Understandably, she was still taking Setsuna's death very hard, and Trunks realized that this was no time to be marveling about the fact that they had just gone from one universe to another.

Trunks moved over to her then, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her body into his. He knew that there were no words that he could say that would make her feel better; all that Hotaru needed right now was to mourn over the death of her loved one, and he wasn't going to get into the way of that. He would let her cry as much as she needed to, until she either ran out of tears or passed out from exhaustion from her sadness, and he would be there for whatever she needed.

**A/N: **Please review, again my apologies. Until next time,

kusari


End file.
